Ethnic fractionalization has both positive and negative consequences. It is contended that the positive effects due to skill complementarity in the production process apply to large firms that have more complex and diversified production structures. Because small businesses rely more on public...

This study analyzes the difference in the decline in sales between small and medium-size enterprises and large firms (the "gap") following the outbreak of COVID-19 in 19 developing countries. The decline in sales as a percentage of the pre-pandemic level was bigger for small and medium-size...

Women often face more hurdles than men in obtaining finance. This is especially so when credit supply is limited and financial markets are less developed. As a result, owners of firms may prefer men over women as top managers of their firms, widening the gender gap in top manager positions. This...

This study investigates the impact of competition from informal or unregistered firms on the likelihood of formal manufacturing small and medium-size enterprises obtaining internationally recognized quality certificates. The sample includes 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, one of...

It is sometimes thought that regulation often creates opportunities for public officials to extract bribes. If this is true, deregulation offers a simple way of combating corruption. However, empirical evidence on the corruption and regulation nexus is limited. Further, the corruption indices...

This paper analyzes the relationship between the number of documents required to export and import and the time it takes to complete all procedures to trade. It shows that an increase in the number of documents required for export and import tends to increase the time cost of shipments. However,...

Repeated attempts at uncovering the relevance of country size for various economic factors have produced discouraging results. The present paper sheds new light on the relevance of country size using micro or firm-level data on firms' experience with the quality of tax administration, an...

The article analyses the relationship between country size and the use of imported intermediate inputs by firms in 76 developing countries. Recent evidence indicates that the use of imported inputs can have a large positive effect on productivity and growth, thus motivating a better...

For a representative sample of manufacturing firms in 26 countries, the article shows that changes in the cost of importing over time is significantly and negatively correlated with changes in the percentage of firm’s material inputs that are of foreign origin. Furthermore, we show that there...

This study explores the relationship between mandating a nondiscrimination clause in hiring practices along gender lines and the employment of women versus men in fifty-eight developing countries. Using data from the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys (2006–10), the study finds a strong positive...