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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Are Large Informal Firms More Productive Than The Small Informal Firms? Evidence From Firm-Level Surveys In Africa, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam May 2015

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 Jan 2015

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 Jan 2015

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 May 2014

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 May 2014

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 …


The Relevance Of Firm-Size For The Informal Sector, Mohammad Amin Jun 2013

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 …