IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/4446.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

What matters to African firms ? the relevance of perceptions data

Author

Listed:
  • Gelb, Alan
  • Ramachandran, Vijaya
  • Shah, Manju Kedia
  • Turner, Ginger

Abstract

Can perceptions data help us understand investment climate constraints facing the private sector? Or do firms simply complain about everything? In this paper, the authors provide a picture of how firms'views on constraints differ across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys database, they find that reported constraints reflect country characteristics and vary systematically by level of income-the most elemental constraints to doing business (power, access to finance, ability to plan ahead) appear to be most binding at low levels of income. As countries develop and these elemental constraints are relaxed, governance-related constraints become more problematic. As countries move further up the income scale and the state becomes more capable, labor regulation is perceived to be more of a problem-business is just one among several important constituencies. The authors also consider whether firm-level characteristics-such as size, ownership, exporter status, and firms'own experience-affect firms'views on the severity of constraints. They find that, net of country and sector fixed effects and firm characteristics, firms'views do reflect their experience as evidenced by responses to other questions in surveys. The results suggest that there are both country-level and firm-level variations in the investment climate. Turning to the concept of"binding constraints,"the Enterprise Surveys do not generally suggest one single binding constraint facing firms in difficult business climates. However, there do appear to be groups of constraints that matter more at different income levels, with a few elemental constraints being especially important at low levels and a few regulatory constraints at high levels, but a difficult range of governance-related constraints at intermediate levels. Adjusting to a constraint does not mean that firms then do not recognize it-for example, generator-owning firms are not distinguishable from other firms when ranking electricity as a constraint. Overall, firms do appear to discriminate between constraints in a reasonable way. Their views can provide a useful first step in the business-government consultative process and help in prioritizing more specific behavioral analysis and policy reforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Gelb, Alan & Ramachandran, Vijaya & Shah, Manju Kedia & Turner, Ginger, 2007. "What matters to African firms ? the relevance of perceptions data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4446, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4446
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2007/12/14/000158349_20071214152644/Rendered/PDF/wps4446.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Honorati, Maddalena & Mengistae, Taye, 2007. "Corruption, business environment, and small business fixed investment in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4356, The World Bank.
    2. Meghana Ayyagari & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2008. "How Important Are Financing Constraints? The Role of Finance in the Business Environment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 22(3), pages 483-516, November.
    3. Biggs, Tyler & Shah, Manju Kedia, 2006. "African small and medium enterprises, networks, and manufacturing performance," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3855, The World Bank.
    4. Sendhil Mullainathan & Marianne Bertrand, 2001. "Do People Mean What They Say? Implications for Subjective Survey Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 67-72, May.
    5. Benn Eifert & Alan Gelb & Vijaya Ramachandran, 2005. "Business Environment and Comparative Advantage in Africa: Evidence from the Investment Climate Data," Working Papers 56, Center for Global Development.
    6. Wendy Carlin & Mark Schaffer & Paul Seabright, 2006. "Where are the Real Bottlenecks? A Lagrangian Approach to Identifying Constraints on Growth from Subjective Survey Data," CERT Discussion Papers 0604, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    7. Raturi, Mayank & Swamy, Anand V, 1999. "Explaining Ethnic Differentials in Credit Market Outcomes in Zimbabwe," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(3), pages 585-604, April.
    8. George R.G. Clarke & James Habyarimana & Michael Ingram & David Kaplan & Vijaya Ramachandran, 2007. "An Assessment of the Investment Climate in South Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6738.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. T. Dinh, Hinh & Mavridis, Dimitris A. & Nguyen, Hoa B., 2010. "The binding constraint on firms'growth in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5485, The World Bank.
    2. Tidiane Kinda, 2018. "The quest for non-resource-based FDI: Do taxes matter?," Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Tidiane Kinda & Patrick Plane & Marie‐Ange Véganzonès‐Varoudakis, 2011. "Firm Productivity And Investment Climate In Developing Countries: How Does Middle East And North Africa Manufacturing Perform?," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 49(4), pages 429-462, December.
    4. M.A. Véganzonès-Varoudakis & H. T. M. Nguyen, 2018. "Investment climate, outward orientation and manufacturing firm productivity: new empirical evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(53), pages 5766-5794, November.
    5. Bouton, Lawrence & Tiongson, Erwin R., 2010. "Subjective perceptions of financing constraints: How well do they reflect credit market conditions?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 98-105, June.
    6. Samyukta Bhupatiraju, 2020. "Multi-level Determinants of Inward FDI Ownership," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 18(2), pages 327-358, June.
    7. Florian Misch & Norman Gemmell & Richard Kneller, 2014. "Using surveys of business perceptions as a guide to growth-enhancing fiscal reforms," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(4), pages 683-725, October.
    8. Florian Misch & Norman Gemmell & Richard Kneller, 2008. "Business Perceptions, Fiscal Policy and Growth," Discussion Papers 08/10, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    9. World Bank, 2009. "The Gambia : An Assessment of the Investment Climate," World Bank Publications - Reports 12983, The World Bank Group.
    10. Diagne, Youssoupha S, 2013. "Impact of business environment on investment and output of manufacturing firms in Senegal," MPRA Paper 54227, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Kinda, Tidiane, 2010. "Investment Climate and FDI in Developing Countries: Firm-Level Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 498-513, April.
    12. Judy S. Yang, 2017. "The governance environment and innovative SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 525-541, March.
    13. Michael Grimm & Simon Lange & Jann Lay, 2011. "Credit-constrained in risky activities? The determinants of capital stocks of micro and small firms in Western Africa," Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth - Discussion Papers 104, Courant Research Centre PEG.
    14. Fadil Sahiti & Helen Lawton Smith, 2017. "An application of growth diagnostics on the growth of firms: with evidence from Kosovo firms," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-24, December.
    15. Akuriba, Margaret Atosina & Haagsma, Rein & Heerink, Nico & Dittoh, Saa, 2020. "Assessing governance of irrigation systems: A view from below," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    16. World Bank, 2007. "An Assessment of the Investment Climate in Botswana : Volume I, Main Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 7093, The World Bank Group.
    17. Kenyon, Thomas, 2008. "Tax Evasion, Disclosure, and Participation in Financial Markets: Evidence from Brazilian Firms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2512-2525, November.
    18. Mawhood, Rebecca & Gross, Robert, 2014. "Institutional barriers to a ‘perfect’ policy: A case study of the Senegalese Rural Electrification Plan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 480-490.

    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. Victor Motta, 2017. "Are SMEs in the hospitality industry less likely to experience credit constraint than other industries in the service sector? Evidence from Latin America," Tourism Economics, , vol. 23(7), pages 1398-1418, November.
    2. Klaus Friesenbichler & Oliver Fritz & Werner Hölzl & Gerhard Streicher & Florian Misch & Mustafa Yeter, 2014. "The Efficiency of EU Public Administration in Helping Firms Grow," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 50931, March.
    3. Samer Matta, 2017. "The Microeconomic Impact of Political Instability: Firm-Level Evidence from Tunisia," Working Papers 1135, Economic Research Forum, revised 09 Jul 2017.
    4. Naegels, Vanessa & Mori, Neema & D'Espallier, Bert, 2022. "The process of female borrower discouragement," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    5. Commander, Simon & Nikoloski, Zlatko, 2010. "Institutions and Economic Performance: What Can Be Explained?," IZA Discussion Papers 5247, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Mertzanis, Charilaos, 2016. "The absorption of financial services in an Islamic environment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 132(S), pages 216-236.
    7. Judy S. Yang, 2017. "The governance environment and innovative SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 525-541, March.
    8. Clarke George R, 2011. "Are Managers' Perceptions of Constraints to Growth Reliable? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in South Africa," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 1-28, August.
    9. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing & Sur, Mona, 2007. "Sri Lanka's Rural Non-Farm Economy: Removing Constraints to Pro-Poor Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2056-2078, December.
    10. World Bank Group, 2014. "Lao PDR Investment Climate Assessment 2014 : Policy Uncertainty in the Midst of a Natural Resources Boom," World Bank Publications - Reports 21506, The World Bank Group.
    11. Nesma Mohamed Ali, 2017. "Towards a better integration of the informal sector: three empirical essays on the interaction between formal and informal firms in Egypt and beyond," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph17-05 edited by Manon Domingues Dos Santos & Boris Najman.
    12. Wendy Carlin & Mark Schaffer & Paul Seabright, 2006. "Where are the Real Bottlenecks? A Lagrangian Approach to Identifying Constraints on Growth from Subjective Survey Data," CERT Discussion Papers 0604, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    13. Markus Merz & Jan Riepe, 2021. "SMEs with legally restricted banking access: evidence from the US marijuana industry," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(6), pages 797-849, August.
    14. Edwards, Lawrence & Balchin, Neil, 2008. "Trade related business climate and manufacturing export performance in Africa: A firm-level analysis," MPRA Paper 32863, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Commander, Simon & Svejnar, Jan & Tinn, Katrin, 2008. "Explaining the performance of firms and countries: What does the business environment play?," Working Papers 836, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.
    16. Friesenbichler, Klaus & Fritz, Oliver & Hölzl, Werner & Misch, Florian & Streicher, Gerhard & Yeter, Mustafa, 2014. "The efficiency of EU public administration in helping firms grow: Final report," ZEW Expertises, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, number 111450.
    17. Hallward-Driemeier, Mary & Aterido, Reyes, 2009. "Comparing Apples with....Apples : how to make (more) sense of subjective rankings of constraints to business," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5054, The World Bank.
    18. Epede, Mesumbe Bianca & Wang, Daoping, 2022. "Global value chain linkages: An integrative review of the opportunities and challenges for SMEs in developing countries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5).
    19. Martin, Ralf & Muûls, Mirabelle & de Preux, Laure B. & Wagner, Ulrich J., 2012. "Anatomy of a paradox: Management practices, organizational structure and energy efficiency," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 208-223.
    20. Nicholas Bloom & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2015. "Do Private Equity Owned Firms Have Better Management Practices?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 442-446, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ; Emerging Markets; Microfinance; Governance Indicators; Access to Finance;
    All these keywords.

    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:wbk:wbrwps:4446. 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: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.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.