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Informality and profitability : evidence from a new firm survey in Ecuador

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  • Medvedev, Denis
  • Oviedo, Ana Maria

Abstract

This paper estimates the impact of informality on firm profits using a new firm-level survey designed specifically for this study. The survey was administered to about 1,200 firms with 50 employees or less in Ecuador's two largest cities, Quito and Guayaquil, plus two main centers of economic activity near the northern and southern borders. The paper's results confirm that the extent of firms'compliance with a set of regulatory requirements is linked to the perceived costs and benefits of informality, such as the probability of detection by the authorities and the likelihood of being fined. Nonetheless, taking into account the non-random placement of firms along the formality-informality spectrum and controlling for a large set of firm, owner, and location characteristics, the paper finds that more formal firms tend to be more profitable and have higher output per worker. This impact operates, inter alia, through more formal firms'ability to obtain improved access to credit and achieve higher sales by issuing receipts to clients.

Suggested Citation

  • Medvedev, Denis & Oviedo, Ana Maria, 2013. "Informality and profitability : evidence from a new firm survey in Ecuador," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6431, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6431
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Straub, Stéphane, 2005. "Informal sector: The credit market channel," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 299-321, December.
    2. Paloma López-García & Sergio Puente, 2006. "Business demography in Spain: determinants of firm survival," Working Papers 0608, Banco de España.
    3. de Mel, Suresh & McKenzie, David J. & Woodruff, Christopher, 2009. "Measuring microenterprise profits: Must we ask how the sausage is made?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 19-31, January.
    4. World Bank, 2010. "Turkey - Country Economic Memorandum Informality : Causes, Consequences, Policies," World Bank Publications - Reports 2843, The World Bank Group.
    5. World Bank, 2009. "Increasing Formality and Productivity of Bolivian Firms," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2675.
    6. World Bank, 2012. "Ecuador : The Faces of Informality (Las Caras de La Informalidad) [Ecuador - Las caras de la informalidad]," World Bank Publications - Reports 13252, The World Bank Group.
    7. World Bank, 2008. "Peru : Trajectories towards Formality," World Bank Publications - Reports 12897, The World Bank Group.
    8. Pablo Fajnzylber & William F. Maloney & Gabriel V. Montes-Rojas, 2009. "Releasing Constraints to Growth or Pushing on a String? Policies and Performance of Mexican Micro-Firms," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(7), pages 1027-1047, August.
    9. Katayama, Hajime & Lu, Shihua & Tybout, James R., 2009. "Firm-level productivity studies: Illusions and a solution," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 403-413, May.
    10. Fajnzylber, Pablo & Maloney, William F. & Montes-Rojas, Gabriel V., 2009. "Does Formality Improve Micro-Firm Performance? Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the Brazilian SIMPLES Program," IZA Discussion Papers 4531, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Cited by:

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    3. Rothenberg, Alexander D. & Gaduh, Arya & Burger, Nicholas E. & Chazali, Charina & Tjandraningsih, Indrasari & Radikun, Rini & Sutera, Cole & Weilant, Sarah, 2016. "Rethinking Indonesia’s Informal Sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 96-113.
    4. Tchapo Gbandi & Ayira Korem & Kossiwa Zinsou-Klassou, 2024. "Save women entrepreneurs: gender, cultural context, and micro-commerce performance in Togo," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 1099-1133, March.
    5. Ceyhun Elgin & Ferda Erturk, 2019. "Informal economies around the world: measures, determinants and consequences," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(2), pages 221-237, June.
    6. Shi Wang & Yizhou Yuan & Hua Wang, 2019. "Corruption, Hidden Economy and Environmental Pollution: A Spatial Econometric Analysis Based on China’s Provincial Panel Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-23, August.
    7. Mohamed El Komi & Mona Said, 2017. "The Nexus Between Informal Credit and Informal Labor for Micro and Small Enterprises in Egypt: Sources of Finance and Enterprises Informality: Evidence from MSE Surveys in Two Governorates," Working Papers 1074, Economic Research Forum, revised 03 2017.

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    Keywords

    Access to Finance; Microfinance; E-Business; Banks&Banking Reform; Debt Markets;
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