How do differences in the local business environment influence location of industry within countries? How do the benefits of a good business environment compare with those from good market access and agglomeration economies from industry clustering? The authors examine these questions by...

Why do firms choose to locate in the informal sector? Researchers often argue that the high cost of regulation prevents informal firms from becoming formal and productive. Our results point to a more nuanced story. Using data from surveys of microenterprises in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana,...

The authors'analysis of manufacturing plants sampled from India's major industrial centers shows large productivity gaps across cities. The gaps partly reflect differences in agglomeration economies and in market access. However, they are also explained to a greater extent by differences in the...

This paper estimates a dynamic business growth equation on a sample of small-scale manufacturers. The results suggest that excessive labor regulation, power shortages, and problems of access to finance are significant influences on industrial growth in India. The expected annual sales growth...

An analysis of data on a sample of small-scale manufacturers shows that a business is less likely to survive and grows slower the smaller the average price-cost margin in the industry in which it operates. The probability of survival is also smaller in import competing industries. So is the mean...

Several studies in developed economies have reported that the rate of growth of small firms decreases with firm age as well as size. The result is consistent with Jovanovic's (1982) version of the passive learning model of competitive selection and is confirmed by data on a random sample of...

The causes and consequences of foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries remains a subject of debate among researchers and policymakers alike. The authors use international data and a new micro-data set of firms in thirteen Southern African Developing Countries (SADCs) to...

Several studies in developed economies have reported that the rate of growth of small firms decreases with firm age as well as size. The result is consistent with Jovanovic`s (1982) version of the passive learning model of competetive selection and is confirmed by data on a random sample of...