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Full-Text Articles in Economics
Women Managers And The Gender-Based Gap In Access To Education: Evidence From Firm-Level Data In Developing Countries, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Women Managers And The Gender-Based Gap In Access To Education: Evidence From Firm-Level Data In Developing Countries, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Mohammad Amin
A number of studies explore the differences in men and women’s labor market participation rates and wages. Some of these differences have been linked to gender disparities in education attainment and access. The present paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the relationship between the proclivity of a firm having a top woman manager and access to education among women relative to men in the country. We combine the literature on women’s careers in management, which has mostly focused on developed countries, with the development literature that has emphasized the importance of access to education. Using firm-level data for 73 …
Are Large Informal Firms More Productive Than The Small Informal Firms? Evidence From Firm-Level Surveys In Africa, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Are Large Informal Firms More Productive Than The Small Informal Firms? Evidence From Firm-Level Surveys In Africa, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Mohammad Amin
Using data for over 500 informal or unregistered firms in seven countries in Africa, this study explores how labor productivity varies between small and large informal firms. We find robust evidence that small informal firms have higher labor productivity than large informal firms. Thus, even though poor performance of informal firms is typically attributed to their small size vis-à-vis registered or formal sector firms, incremental increases in the size of informal firms does not necessarily imply a narrowing of the formal-informal firm productivity gap.
The Time Cost Of Documents To Trade, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
The Time Cost Of Documents To Trade, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Mohammad Amin
The paper shows that the number of documents required to export and import tend to increase the time cost of shipments. However, this relationship is far from simplistic, varying sharply in magnitude depending on the income level and the size of the country. Specifically, the increase in the time cost of increased documentation is much larger for countries that are relatively poor and large in size. One interpretation of this finding is that the relatively rich countries that have more resources and the relatively small countries that rely more on trade invest more in building efficient documentation systems. Hence, increased …
Online Appendix For: Does Mandating Non-Discrimination In Hiring Practices Influence Women’S Employment? Evidence Using Firm-Level Data, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Online Appendix For: Does Mandating Non-Discrimination In Hiring Practices Influence Women’S Employment? Evidence Using Firm-Level Data, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Mohammad Amin
This is the online Appendix for the paper titled "Does Mandating Non-discrimination in Hiring Practices Influence Women’s Employment? Evidence Using Firm-level Data" that is forthcoming in Feminist Economics.
Female Vs. Male Top Manager Of Private Firms In Developing Countries: Implications For Country And Firm Characteristics, Mohammad Amin
Female Vs. Male Top Manager Of Private Firms In Developing Countries: Implications For Country And Firm Characteristics, Mohammad Amin
Mohammad Amin
Gender disparity in various economic dimensions has prompted policy measures aimed at providing greater employment opportunities for women. However, greater employment may not solve the problem much if this is concentrated in low paying and vulnerable jobs such as jobs in informal sector. Hence, it becomes important to understand how women vs. men compare in high paying formal sector jobs such as top managers of private firms. Using data on private firms in 86 developing countries, this paper analyzes how firms with female vs. male managers differ in their structure and performance. Relationship between various country characteristics and the proportion …
The Relevance Of Firm-Size In The Informal Sector: Evidence From Developing Countries, Mohammad Amin
The Relevance Of Firm-Size In The Informal Sector: Evidence From Developing Countries, Mohammad Amin
Mohammad Amin
Using newly collected on informal firms in 11 countries in Africa, we explore whether firm-size matters at all for the structure, conduct and performance of the firms. While firm-size is known to be an important attribute of the firms in the formal sector, it is not obvious what the relevance of firm-size is for the informal sector. Informal firms are small, many of them run alone by the owner, and have limited variation in size. Notwithstanding the limited variation in firm-size, our results show that firm-size is highly correlated with a number of firm characteristics such as job growth, labor …
Use Of Foreign Intermediate Inputs In Developing Countries: Determinants And Effects (Short Note), Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam, Po Yin Wong
Use Of Foreign Intermediate Inputs In Developing Countries: Determinants And Effects (Short Note), Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam, Po Yin Wong
Mohammad Amin
Theory suggests a number of channels through which use of foreign inputs could contribute to overall economic development and firm performance. However, empirical work on the use of foreign inputs, its determinants and effects is lacking. Using firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys on developing countries, this note highlights the extent to which firms rely on foreign inputs, how the reliance varies with country and firm characteristics and the impact of foreign inputs on firm productivity. Results show that the use of foreign inputs is common among private firms and especially so among the relatively large firms and firms in countries …
The Relevance Of Firm-Size For The Informal Sector, Mohammad Amin
The Relevance Of Firm-Size For The Informal Sector, Mohammad Amin
Mohammad Amin
Using newly collected on informal firms in 11 countries in Africa, we explore whether firm-size matters at all for the structure, conduct and performance of the firms. While firm-size is known to be an important attribute of the firms in the formal sector, it is not obvious what the relevance of firm-size is for the informal sector. Informal firms are small, many of them run alone by the owner, and have limited variation in size. Notwithstanding the limited variation in firm-size, our results show that firm-size is highly correlated with a number of firm characteristics such as job growth, labor …
Imports Of Intermediate Inputs And Country Size, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Imports Of Intermediate Inputs And Country Size, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Mohammad Amin
The present paper analyzes the relationship between country size and the use of imported intermediate inputs by firms in 76 developing countries. Recent evidence indicates that the use of imported inputs can have a large positive effect on productivity and growth thus motivating a better understanding of the determinants of imported inputs. Our results confirm that relative to large countries, firms in small countries are both likely to use more imported inputs and a larger share of imported inputs in their total inputs. Interestingly, adjusting for the mean level of imports of inputs and exports of goods in our sample, …
Gender Based Differences In Managerial Experience: The Case Of Informal Firms In Rwanda, Mohammad Amin, Khrystyna Kushnir
Gender Based Differences In Managerial Experience: The Case Of Informal Firms In Rwanda, Mohammad Amin, Khrystyna Kushnir
Mohammad Amin
The paper contributes to the literature on gender-based disparity in human capital by extending existing results on educational attainment to the number of years of experience that female vs. male managers have among informal or unregistered firms. Using the case of Rwanda, results show that the number of years of experience for female managers is significantly lower equaling 80-88 percent of their male counterparts. We also find that this gender disparity is higher among the relatively older managers and among firms in the relatively less developed city of Butare compared with the more developed city of Kigali.
Do Retail Firms Favor Female Managers? Evidence From Survey Data In Developing Countries, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Do Retail Firms Favor Female Managers? Evidence From Survey Data In Developing Countries, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam
Mohammad Amin
Using firm-level data for 87 developing countries, the paper analyzes how the likelihood of a firm having female vs. male top manager varies across sectors. The service sector is often considered to be more favorable towards women compared with men vis-à-vis the manufacturing sector. While our results confirm a significantly higher presence of female managers in services vs. manufacturing, the result is entirely driven by the retail firms with little contribution from other service sectors such as wholesale, construction and other services. We also find that the higher presence of female managers in the retail sector vs. manufacturing is much …