This paper investigates returns to capital in the formal and informal sectors in Ethiopia using parametric and semi-parametric regression techniques. Results show that there is a higher annual median return to capital in the informal sector (52–140%) than the formal sector (15–21%). However,...

Summary This paper analyzes the risk of exit for privately-owned manufacturing establishments in a small African economy. It shows that changes in the structure of ownership following an economic reform have important implications on establishment survival. The risk of exit is lower for...

We use survey data to investigate how urban households in Ethiopia coped with the food price shock in 2008. Qualitative data indicate that the high food price inflation was by far the most adverse economic shock between 2004 and 2008, and that a significant proportion of households had to adjust...

This paper assesses the impact of risk and shocks on non-farm enterprise development in rural Ethiopia using a matched household–enterprise–community dataset augmented with precipitation based measures of risk. The likelihood of running a non-farm firm and the returns to running such firms...

Summary Manufacturing enterprises in rural and urban Ethiopia are compared to examine how location and investment climate characteristics affect performance. Urban firms are larger, more capital intensive and have higher labor productivity than rural firms, yet there is no strong evidence of...