IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp11529.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Family Ceremonies as a Constraint on Informal Sector Investment: The Case of Sénégal

Author

Listed:
  • Bennett, John

    (Royal Holloway, University of London)

  • Levy, Stephanie

    (London School of Economics)

Abstract

We analyze how intermittent large expenditures on family ceremonies may affect an entrepreneur's investment decision in an informal enterprise. Our hypothesis is that the barrier between family and enterprise is thin and permeable. We test this hypothesis using a survey from Sénégal that combines informal sector and household data. We estimate a measure of exposure to spending on births, weddings and funerals, and show this has a significant negative relationship with the decision to invest and the amount of investment. These results are robust to changes in specifications of the determinants of investment, controlling for both enterprise- and family-related variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Bennett, John & Levy, Stephanie, 2018. "Family Ceremonies as a Constraint on Informal Sector Investment: The Case of Sénégal," IZA Discussion Papers 11529, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11529
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp11529.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Devarajan, Shantayanan & Easterley, William R. & Pack, Howard, 2001. "Is investment in Africa too low or too high : macro and micro evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2519, The World Bank.
    2. Jan Willem Gunning & Paul Collier, 1999. "Explaining African Economic Performance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 64-111, March.
    3. Pamela Jakiela & Owen Ozier, 2016. "Does Africa Need a Rotten Kin Theorem? Experimental Evidence from Village Economies," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 83(1), pages 231-268.
    4. Leandro Medina & Mr. Andrew W Jonelis & Mehmet Cangul, 2017. "The Informal Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Size and Determinants," IMF Working Papers 2017/156, International Monetary Fund.
    5. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo, 2007. "The Economic Lives of the Poor," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 141-168, Winter.
    6. Harrison, Ann E. & Lin, Justin Yifu & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2014. "Explaining Africa’s (Dis)advantage," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 59-77.
    7. Duan, Naihua, et al, 1984. "Choosing between the Sample-Selection Model and the Multi-part Model," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 2(3), pages 283-289, July.
    8. Michael Grimm & Jens Krüger & Jann Lay, 2011. "Barriers To Entry And Returns To Capital In Informal Activities: Evidence From Sub‐Saharan Africa," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57, pages 27-53, May.
    9. Pascaline Dupas & Jonathan Robinson, 2013. "Savings Constraints and Microenterprise Development: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Kenya," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 163-192, January.
    10. Gelb, Alan & Meyer, Christian J. & Ramachandran, Vijaya, 2014. "Development as diffusion: Manufacturing productivity and sub-Saharan Africa's missing middle," WIDER Working Paper Series 042, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Suresh de Mel & David McKenzie & Christopher Woodruff, 2009. "Returns to Capital in Microenterprises: Evidence from a Field Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(1), pages 423-423.
    12. Anne Case & Anu Garrib & Alicia Menendez & Analia Olgiati, 2013. "Paying the Piper: The High Cost of Funerals in South Africa," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(1), pages 1-20.
    13. Bigsten Arne & Collier Paul & Dercon Stefan & Fafchamps Marcel & Gauthier Bernard & Gunning Jan Willem & Oostendorp Remco & Pattillo Catherine & Söderbom Måns & Teal Francis, 2005. "Adjustment Costs and Irreversibility as Determinants of Investment: Evidence from African Manufacturing," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-29, October.
    14. Francis Bloch & Vijayendra Rao & Sonalde Desai, 2004. "Wedding Celebrations as Conspicuous Consumption: Signaling Social Status in Rural India," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(3).
    15. Duan, Naihua, et al, 1983. "A Comparison of Alternative Models for the Demand for Medical Care," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 1(2), pages 115-126, April.
    16. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Benjamin A. Olken, 2014. "The Missing "Missing Middle"," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(3), pages 89-108, Summer.
    17. Arne Bigsten & Mans Söderbom, 2006. "What Have We Learned from a Decade of Manufacturing Enterprise Surveys in Africa?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 21(2), pages 241-265.
    18. Salvatore di Falco & Erwin Bulte, 2011. "A Dark Side of Social Capital? Kinship, Consumption, and Savings," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(8), pages 1128-1151, June.
    19. Gulyani, Sumila & Talukdar, Debabrata, 2010. "Inside Informality: The Links Between Poverty, Microenterprises, and Living Conditions in Nairobi's Slums," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1710-1726, December.
    20. Chen, Huafeng (Jason) & Chen, Shaojun (Jenny), 2012. "Investment-cash flow sensitivity cannot be a good measure of financial constraints: Evidence from the time series," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 393-410.
    21. Carter, Michael R. & Lybbert, Travis J., 2012. "Consumption versus asset smoothing: testing the implications of poverty trap theory in Burkina Faso," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 255-264.
    22. Anne Case & Alicia Menendez, 2011. "Requiescat in Pace? The Consequences of High-Priced Funerals in South Africa," NBER Chapters, in: Explorations in the Economics of Aging, pages 351-373, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Yisheng Bu, 2006. "Fixed capital stock depreciation in developing countries: Some evidence from firm level data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(5), pages 881-901.
    24. Hoff, Karla & Sen, Arijit, 2005. "The kin system as a poverty trap?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3575, The World Bank.
    25. McKenzie, David J & Woodruff, Christopher, 2006. "Do Entry Costs Provide an Empirical Basis for Poverty Traps? Evidence from Mexican Microenterprises," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(1), pages 3-42, October.
    26. Shantayanan Devarajan & William Easterly & Howard Pack, 2001. "Is Investment in Africa Too High or Too Low? Macro‐ and Micro‐evidence," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 10(suppl_2), pages 81-108.
    27. Shiferaw, A., 2006. "Capital adjustment patterns and uncertainty in African manufacturing," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18759, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jean-Philippe Berrou & Damien Girollet, 2019. "A la recherche des « gazelles » du secteur informel urbain africain. Entreprises et entrepreneurs à fort potentiel dans leur environnement socioéconomique et numérique," Working Papers hal-02507441, HAL.
    2. Martijn Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2012. "Financial constraints, risk taking and firm performance: Recent evidence from microfinance clients in Tanzania," DNB Working Papers 358, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    3. Grimm, Michael & Hartwig, Renate & Lay, Jann, 2017. "Does forced solidarity hamper investment in small and micro enterprises?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 827-846.
    4. Simone Schaner, 2018. "The Persistent Power of Behavioral Change: Long-Run Impacts of Temporary Savings Subsidies for the Poor," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 67-100, July.
    5. Dean Karlan & Sendhil Mullainathan & Benjamin N. Roth, 2019. "Debt Traps? Market Vendors and Moneylender Debt in India and the Philippines," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 27-42, June.
    6. Negrete Garcia, Ana Karen, 2018. "Constrained Potential: A Characterisation of Mexican Microenterprises," GIGA Working Papers 309, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    7. Jean-Louis Warnholz, 2008. "Is investment in Africa low despite high profits?," CSAE Working Paper Series 2008-31, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    8. Yashodha, 2019. "Trust and kinship: experimental evidence from rural India," Journal of the Economic Science Association, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 5(2), pages 223-237, December.
    9. Brune, Lasse & Gine, Xavier & Goldberg, Jessica & Yang, Dean, 2011. "Commitments to save : a field experiment in rural Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5748, The World Bank.
    10. Rijkers, Bob & Söderbom, Måns, 2013. "The Effects of Risk and Shocks on Non-Farm Enterprise Development in Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 119-136.
    11. Pascaline Dupas & Sarah Green & Anthony Keats & Jonathan Robinson, 2014. "Challenges in Banking the Rural Poor: Evidence from Kenya's Western Province," NBER Chapters, in: African Successes, Volume III: Modernization and Development, pages 63-101, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Richard Kwabena Nkrumah & Samuel Kobina Annim & Benedict Afful, 2021. "Household Social Expenditure in Ghana: Examining the Ex-Post Effects and Vulnerability to Poverty," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, January.
    13. Wim Naudé, 2007. "Peace, Prosperity, and Pro-Growth Entrepreneurship," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2007-02, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Sam Jones & John Page & Abebe Shimeles & Finn Tarp & Gary Fields, 2015. "Aid, Growth and Jobs," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 27(S1), pages 5-16, October.
    15. Nathan Fiala, 2015. "Economic Consequences of Forced Displacement," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(10), pages 1275-1293, October.
    16. Esther Gehrke & Michael Grimm, 2018. "Do Cows Have Negative Returns? The Evidence Revisited," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(4), pages 673-707.
    17. Ali, Merima & Peerlings, Jack & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2010. "Clustering as an organizational response to capital market inefficiency: Evidence from handloom enterprises in Ethiopia," IFPRI discussion papers 1045, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    18. Ubfal, Diego, 2016. "How general are time preferences? Eliciting good-specific discount rates," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 150-170.
    19. Philippe Alby & Emmanuelle Auriol & Pierre Nguimkeu, 2020. "Does Social Pressure Hinder Entrepreneurship in Africa? The Forced Mutual Help Hypothesis," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 87(346), pages 299-327, April.
    20. Felipe Kast & Dina Pomeranz, 2013. "Saving More to Borrow Less: Experimental Evidence from Access to Formal Savings Accounts in Chile," Harvard Business School Working Papers 14-001, Harvard Business School, revised Jun 2014.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    informality; investment behaviour; family ceremonies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11529. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.