Evaluating the impact of registration on future firm performance in the Middle East and North Africa region: evidence from the World Bank Enterprise Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 473
Author(s):  
Colin C. Williams ◽  
Abbi M. Kedir
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Middle East ◽  
World Bank ◽  
North Africa ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
World Bank Enterprise Survey ◽  
Enterprise Survey ◽  
The Impact

Major obstacles facing business enterprises in an emerging economy: the case of Ghana using the World Bank Enterprise Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-487
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mohammed ◽  
Alhassan Bunyaminu
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Business Enterprises ◽  
World Bank Enterprise Survey ◽  
Enterprise Survey

PurposeThis paper aims at identifying the major obstacles to business enterprise in an emerging economy and how these obstacles are associated with different characteristics of the enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThe study relied on the World Bank Enterprise Survey data on Ghana and applied binary and ordinal probit regression techniques to estimate the associations between the characteristics of the enterprises and the identified obstacles. Significance testing of the associations is also conducted.FindingsThe five main obstacles perceived by most of the enterprises in the study are access to finance, electricity, access to land, customs and trade regulations and tax rates. These obstacles are associated in different ways to growth rate (high vs low growth), scale (small and medium vs large), age, size of employees, the experience of the top manager and ownership (wholly domestic vs foreign ownership).Research limitations/implicationsAs a cross-sectional study focusing on Ghana, the findings are informative about the major obstacles facing business enterprises in an emerging economy; however, the ecological validity of these findings may be limited to factors specific to Ghana.Originality/valueGiven the representativeness of the Enterprise Survey, policymakers can rely on these findings to formulate useful policies to promote the operations of business enterprises.

MSMEs Productivity in Nigeria

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Oluseye Samuel Ajuwon ◽  
Sylvanus Ikhide ◽  
Joseph Oscar Akotey
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Productivity Growth ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Product Customization ◽  
World Bank Enterprise Survey ◽  
Enterprise Survey

This study uses the World bank enterprise survey data for Nigeria to examines Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) productivity rate in the Nigerian economy. The study explores factors that constrain MSMES output growth in Nigeria. Some of the factors identified include huge infrastructural gap, inadequate institutional support and low access to credit. The resultant effect is a low investment commitment amongst MSMEs thus hampering the productivity of MSMEs in the Nigerian economy. The MSMEs productivity growth rate was measured using annual sales of firms from the World bank enterprise survey data for Nigeria. This research employs the non-parametric variance estimation using the locally-weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) method on three sets of two-points data (2006 and 2003, 2008 and 2002, and finally 2012 and 2009) of annual fiscal sales for each category of firms comprising micro, small, medium and large firms. The result shows that the small businesses have a negative productivity growth rate in Nigeria. This in line with IFC (2013) which found that small businesses have the least productivity growth rate amongst firms of all sizes. However, this study departs from IFC findings which states that small businesses’ low productivity growth rate is tenable across all the sectors of the economy. The study found that small businesses actually recorded high productivity growth rate in some subsectors of the economy that specializes in product customization such as garment and furniture. Therefore, this study validates the flexible specialization theory that emphases the economic importance of MSMEs in the post-industrial era where product customization is the new order of production. The policy implication of this study is that any targeted intervention in the MSMEs sub-sector of the economy designed to increase productivity, should be channeled into the subsector with the most employee specialization as well as product customization.Keyword(s): MSMEs, small business, Output, Productivity, JEL Classifications: P42 M13 O55

The World Bank Financial Intermediary Funds as a Multilateral Mechanism to Channel Assistance to Politically Unstable Regions: The Case of the Middle East and North Africa Transition Fund

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-108
Author(s):  
Vladimir Bartenev ◽  
◽  
Alexey Solomatin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
World Bank ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Fragile States ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Financial Intermediary ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World

In recent years there has been a steady growth of “multi-bilateral aid,” or voluntary earmarked contributions transferred by international donors through multilateral organizations. The World Bank Group’s financial intermediary funds (FIFs) and trust funds have gained an especially wide recognition and have been particularly instrumental in channelling aid to fragile states — a priority group of partners for achieving the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. But researchers have paid much less attention to FIFs than to trust funds.This article identifies characteristic features of World Bank IFIs as a multilateral mechanism to channel aid to politically unstable regions, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa Transition Fund (MENA TF) established in 2012 to support Arab countries undergoing political transitions as a result of the Arab Awakening. The introductory section examines the particularities, benefits and risks of establishing FIFs as multilateral mechanisms to transfer development assistance. These parameters are illustrated in subsequent sections which discuss the MENA TF’s establishment procedures, governance structure, and mobilization and allocation of funds.The article concludes that for each of the parties involved, hypothetically, World Bank FIFs are a quite convenient mechanism for supporting fragile states. However, the example of the MENA TF conclusively shows that everything depends on the concrete political context of their establishment and operation. In terms of some key parameters (establishment procedure, governance structure) the MENA TF mechanism is very similar to other funds of the same type, but its operation is strongly affected by challenges uncommon to the majority of FIFs, which are focused on more politically neutral sectors. These challenges stem from several factors, including the predominance of political decisions within the Deauville Partnership, a unique list of contributors, and a severity of discord among them given the drastic deterioration of the political climate in the Arab world and beyond in 2014. This not only disrupted plans to engage more donors and mobilize the planned amount of funds, but it also stipulated a visible politicization of aid allocation. Political risks which materialized in the MENA TF operations might occur in other FIFs focused on fragile states and situations. The establishment of additional multilateral mechanisms, thus, requires learning from experience and prioritizing risk assessment and mitigation.

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