Firm survival in Côte d'Ivoire manufacturing sector. Estimations using a hazard function on RPED Data.

This paper analyzes the determinants of firm survival in Côte d'Ivoire manufacturing Sector. Non parametric and parametric models are used for estimations on 181 firms surve during March 1995 and March 1996 for the World Bank Regional Program on Enterprise Development (RPED). The main findings are that firms are selected on the basis of active learning and that hazard rate follows a positive duration dependence suggesting that mature firms are replaced by younger enterprises. Capital intensive technologies; highly educated and experienced entrepreneurs and the wholly withholding of an enterprise increase enterprise life duration. Finally, the competitive environment plays an important role essentially by the bias of entrants and of price competition which has a negative effect on firm survival.