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Small and Medium Enterprises – What Works? What Doesn’t?
Development economists are obsessed with SMEs. And for good reason: employment in SMEs – defined as enterprises with up to 250 employees – constitutes over 60 percent of total employment in...
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How Do Firms Finance Investment?
A large body of literature has found that in countries with weak institutions firms are able to obtain less external financing, resulting in lower growth. Indeed, even simple cross-country comparisons...
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Deals vs. Rules: Capturing Regulatory Burdens
The costs of excessive regulatory burdens can stifle incentives for firms to innovate, invest and grow. In recent years, aid agencies and developing countries have been stepping up efforts to reduce...
View ArticleCan the Business Environment Explain International Differences in...
It is well established that financial development is necessary for the efficient allocation of capital and firm growth, yet firm-level surveys have repeatedly found access to finance to be among the...
View ArticleThe Status of Bank Lending to SMEs in the Middle East and North Africa Region
Editor's Note: The following post was submitted jointly by Roberto Rocha, Senior Adviser, MENA, Rania Khouri, Director, Union of Arab Banks, Subika Farazi, Consultant, MENA, and Douglas Pearce, Senior...
View ArticleThe Impact of the Crisis on New Firm Registration
With millions around the globe feeling the impact of the financial crisis and slower economic growth and job losses, it is important to understand regulatory and policy constraints on entrepreneurs...
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The Returns to Better Management
How much does management matter for economic performance? Despite a large industry of business schools, consulting firms, and airport books purporting to teach you the secrets of good management over...
View ArticleCredit Where Credit is Due: Partial Credit Guarantee Schemes in the Middle...
Editor's Note: The following post was submitted jointly by Youssef Hassani, Economist, MENA, Zsofia Arvai, Senior Financial Economist, MENA, and Roberto Rocha, Senior Adviser, MENA. Many countries in...
View ArticleBank Lending to SMEs: How Much Does Type of Bank Ownership Matter?
Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) account for close to 60 percent of global manufacturing employment. So it is no surprise that financing for SMEs has been a subject of great interest to both...
View ArticleGenerating Jobs in Developing Countries: A Big Role for Small Firms
These days, job creation is a top priority for policymakers. What role do small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play in employment generation and economic recovery? Multi-billion dollar aid portfolios...
View ArticleShould Development Organizations be Hunting Gazelles?
Last week I presented some early findings from ongoing work at the IADB, at Innovations for Poverty Action’s SME initiative inaugural conference. There was a lot of interesting discussion about early...
View ArticleWhat Do We Know about the Impact of Tax Reforms on Private Sector Development?
I recently conducted a literature review on the impact of tax reforms on private sector development as part of the Investment Climate Impact Project.1 My goal was to take stock of what is currently...
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