|
on Entrepreneurship |
| By: | Vittorio Bassi; Jung Hyuk Lee; Alessandra Peter; Tommaso Porzio; Ritwika Sen; Esau Tugume |
| Abstract: | We study the internal organization of manufacturing firms in Uganda. We measure what people do within firms and find limited specialization, far below what is feasible given the prevailing production process and average firm size of 5.7 workers. We build and estimate an occupational choice model in which firm size, productivity, and specialization arise endogenously. The model shows that firms in this setting are largely “self-employment in disguise” and generate just a 20% productivity gain over literal self-employment. In a counterfactual economy with full specialization, the same aggregate output can be produced with an average firm size of only 1.6. |
| JEL: | O11 O17 L23 L25 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11900 |
| By: | Gideon Bornstein |
| Abstract: | Over the past four decades, the U.S. economy has seen a decline in the share of young firms alongside a rise in the profit share of GDP. This paper explores how population aging contributes to these twin trends through a demand-side channel. The core hypothesis is that younger households exhibit lower consumer inertia—a tendency to stick with previously chosen products—than older households. As demand shifts toward more inertial consumers, entry becomes harder, incumbents raise markups, and market share tilts toward larger firms. To quantify this mechanism, I develop and calibrate a firm dynamics model with overlapping generations of consumers who differ in their degree of inertia. Using detailed micro data, I show that younger households are significantly less inertial. The model implies that population aging accounts for 20%–30% of the observed decline in young firms and rise in profits. Reduced-form evidence across U.S. states and product categories supports the model’s predictions. |
| JEL: | D40 E20 J10 L10 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33820 |
| By: | Joubert, Clement (World Bank); Beegle, Kathleen (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Although microenterprises are the most prevalent employer in Africa, boosting their productivity remains a development challenge. Theoretically, microenterprise business associations could foster technology, improve access to inputs, pool risk, ensure coordination, and facilitate credit for businesses. However, basic facts about their scope and roles are missing from the literature. This study establishes descriptive results to shed light on the nature of these networks in West Africa. First, fewer than 10 percent of informal business owners are members, although there is large industry variation. Second, members tend to be older and larger incumbent businesses with male owners, potentially stifling competition and entrenching gender gaps. Third, most associations are more aptly described as providers of excludable, industry-specific services than as vehicles for collective action and advocacy. Fourth, membership helps explain performance differences among observably similar businesses. Members are more productive, profitable, and financially included relative to similar non-members, although such premia only materialize in a few industries. |
| Keywords: | business associations, Africa, microenterprises, productivity |
| JEL: | D22 O16 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17887 |
| By: | Grande Sergio (European Commission - JRC); Rufino Asier; Petit Laurence; Basilio Oihana |
| Abstract: | This report, focused on deep tech entrepreneurship in Europe and the crucial role of Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs) in fostering impactful industrial spin-offs, aims to explore the role that deep tech spin-offs and RTOs, through their Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs), play in driving innovation, creating different types of impact including the creation of new value chains, and addressing the high-risk nature of technology commercialization. One of the core objectives of this study is to analyse the challenges and opportunities that deep tech spin-offs face, particularly in terms of team creation and evolution over time, as well as their challenges in attracting talents, and analysing the types of impact generated by industrial deep tech spin-offs.The study methodology includes a comprehensive literature review, a wide stakeholder consultation, data collection from 29 TTO Circle member organizations and 49 of their most impactful industrial deep tech spinoffs, data analysis, synthesis, and recommendations. These recommendations are further validated through stakeholder feedback obtained during validation meetings and webinars.This study, therefore, provides a roadmap for how deep tech entrepreneurship can drive Europeâs economic renewal, directly addressing the concerns and recommendations of the Draghi report, and offering concrete strategies to ensure that Europe remains at the forefront of global innovation. |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc141029 |
| By: | Bruhn, Miriam; Hernandez Mansilla, Johan Rolando; Ortega, Claudia Ruiz |
| Abstract: | This paper conducts a meta-analysis of 24 studies evaluating the impact of formal loans on small and medium-sized enterprise performance. Using a Bayesian hierarchical model, the paper estimates that formal loans increase small and medium-sized enterprise employment by 12 percent, sales by 18.3 percent, and profits by 17.6 percent. Subgroup analyses show that the effects of credit on employment are larger when loans are issued by public rather than private banks, and the effects are broadly similar across firm size, country income levels, and guarantee structures. The larger impact of public bank loans suggests that private lenders’ profit-maximizing incentives may not always align with providing funds to the most credit-constrained firms that have the highest returns to capital. |
| Date: | 2025–06–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11140 |
| By: | Francesco Del Prato; Paolo Zacchia |
| Abstract: | In a heterogeneous firm economy with monopolistic competition, could informational asymmetries between entrepreneurs and financial intermediaries sometimes improve welfare? We study this question by developing a model where banks finance entrepreneurs under asymmetric information. While aggregate productivity decreases with informational frictions, we find that welfare can be maximized at intermediate levels of information asymmetry due to a trade-off between productivity and product variety. Additionally, moderate input cost distortions can improve welfare when financial frictions are severe by offsetting the resulting weak firm selection. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2505.24460 |
| By: | Kirui, Oliver K.; Siddig, Khalid; Fisher, Monica; Cavicchioli, Martina; Chamberlin, Jordan |
| Abstract: | The current conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has had a profound impact on the nation’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME). Such enterprises are a vital part of the country’s economy and important to the food security of many Sudanese households. All MSMEs, including those in the agrifood sector, have faced severe disruptions due to the instability, rising inflation, and supply chain breakdowns brought on by the conflict. These challenges have destabilized MSMEs, affecting their financial viability, operations, and capacity to support local food security and provide employment. Agrifood MSMEs, in particular, serve as critical intermediaries between large firms and smallholders, supporting local economies and national food systems.2 The conflict has disrupted every aspect of agrifood value chains in Sudan, from input supplies and production to market accessibility. Agrifood entrepreneurs—especially women—have borne some of the heaviest impacts. Female entrepreneurs already face significant gender-based barriers in operating successful businesses, such as more limited access to finance, restrictive social norms, and mobility constraints. In this period of conflict, they now confront even greater challenges. |
| Keywords: | enterprises; conflicts; food security; food supply chains; economics; gender; Sudan; Africa; Northern Africa |
| Date: | 2024–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:163749 |
| By: | Shinozaki, Shigehiro (Asian Development Bank); Miyakawa, Daisuke (Waseda University and UTokyo Economic Consulting Inc.) |
| Abstract: | Understanding the business environment and structural issues that limit growth is critical when designing an effective national policy framework for private sector development—especially for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Given the limited MSME data available, this paper employs probabilistic principal component analysis to develop a new way to quantitatively assess what affects MSME development nationally, by using granular firm-level panel data for 49, 565 MSMEs in Thailand as a case study. The estimation results found a potential disproportionate effect of MSME policy interventions during and after the coronavirus disease pandemic. Government assistance for MSMEs likely helped Bangkok-based firms ease the negative pandemic effects, especially in manufacturing. However, it did not help local MSMEs— regardless of sector—as their operational performance deteriorated both during and after the pandemic. This underscores the importance of using a focused approach when designing policies for MSME development to facilitate more sustainable, resilient private sector growth. |
| Keywords: | SME development; access to finance; financial inclusion; SME policy; probabilistic principal component analysis; Thailand |
| JEL: | D22 G20 L20 L50 |
| Date: | 2025–06–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0785 |
| By: | Ebun Akinsete (ICRE8); Anastasia Flerianou; Frederick Herpers; Eleni Manousiadi; Lydia Papadaki; Ilias Katris; Phoebe Koundouri |
| Abstract: | The sustainable development of regions worldwide is contingent upon the blue economy, which encompasses all economic activities associated with oceans, seas, and littoral areas. The Black Sea, situated at the intersection of Europe and Asia, possesses an immense potential for the development of a prosperous blue economy. Nevertheless, this potential is accompanied by a distinctive set of challenges that must be resolved in order to ensure the sustainable development of maritime industries in the region. DOORS Black Sea, an EU-funded initiative that establishes optimal and transparent research support for the Black Sea, addresses these issues. DOORS establishes a system of systems (SoS) to resolve the impacts of human and climate change on the marine ecosystem, thereby creating 'blue economy' prospects and regenerating the Black Sea. This system connects residents, research, and industry. Stakeholder engagement is essential for the success, value, and impact of DOORS. Together with researchers, they advance science and technology, rendering project labour more significant. In an effort to assist scientists in the prioritisation of Black Sea issues, Multi-Actor Forums (MAFs) convene national stakeholders from Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Georgia, regardless of their background. The concentration is on blue economy policies and innovations that address gaps. This method also assists in the co-design of the region's system of systems, providing researchers with the datasets necessary to address environmental issues and expand the blue economy. This study examines the potential impact of the findings on the long-term expansion of the blue economy and related policy in the region. |
| Keywords: | Blue Economy, Stakeholders engagement, Black Sea, Innovation Acceleration, start-ups |
| Date: | 2025–05–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2537 |