This paper uses new plant-level data from five East Asian countries to explore patterns of manufacturing productivity. Domestically-owned firms that export and firms with foreign ownership are significantly more productive than those that produce solely for domestic consumption --and the productivity gaps are larger the less developed the local market. The possible endogeneity of export orientation is addressed using characteristics at the time of establishment as instruments. It is not simply that more productive firms self-select into exporting; rather, firms that explicitly target export markets make systematically different decisions regarding investment, training, technology and inputs, and thereby raise their productivity.JEL No. O3, O1, O4, F1
The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.
and Måns Söderbom-each having responsibility for different chapters. Numerous other people participated in the completion of the report; their names are listed in the ICA acknowledgments section. The analysis is based on a survey of 781 establishments. The design of the survey and the management of the data collection process were led by Giuseppe Iarossi and Giovanni Tanzillo. The data collection fieldwork was conducted by Etude Economique Conseil (EEC Canada) from May 2007 through July 2007. Particular acknowledgments are due to the DFID Country Office in Nairobi for its sustained commitment to, and financial support of, this initiative. Without DFID this major survey work and report would not have been possible. identify the main impediments to productivity growth Kenyan firms face. This objective is achieved through the analysis of firm-level data directly collected by the World Bank in 2007. This report complements the Doing Business indicators and provides a solid analytical foundation for private sector development policy dialogue and design. The last Kenya ICA (2004) indeed served as one of the key analytical tools to inform the government of Kenya (GoK) of its reform efforts during the past few years. It showed that the business environment in Kenya was characterized by poor infrastructure, complex and bureaucratic administrative and regulatory regimes, poor governance, poor service delivery, insecurity, and unsuitable financial instruments. This ICA arrives at a critical juncture; the government has committed to improving the investment climate, even further convinced that growth can be achieved only through a prosperous private sector. Based on the view that prosperity requires a thriving industrial sector, private sector-led growth is central to the government's Economic Recovery Strategy and its recent "Vision 2030." In early 2007 GoK launched its first-ever Private Sector Development Strategy. This strategy is based on five pillars: improving Kenya's business environment, accelerating institutional transformation, facilitating growth through greater trade expansion, improving Overview 1 productivity of enterprises, supporting entrepreneurship, and developing small and medium enterprises. All these pillars are linked to the ICA's analytical goal. The ICA uses a robust and standardized methodology that has been applied to many countries worldwide. The ICA is based on a representative sample of 657 formal firms and 124 informal establishments. The sample was drawn in four locations-Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, and Kisumu-and covers manufacturing and services. Weights were used in the analysis of the data to ensure full representativeness of the results. Although the sample is quite large, sample nonresponse could invalidate the results of the analysis-especially for more sensitive questions on corruption, taxes, or sales. To reduce such possibilities, strict quality control procedures were applied during the data collection process. These controls led to an overall response rate above 90 percent. The analy...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.