Journal
FOOD POLICY
Volume 67, Issue -, Pages 175-191Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.09.019
Keywords
Entrepreneurship; Enterprise performance; Informal sector; Rural development; Self-employment; Small businesses; Sub-Saharan Africa
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We report on the prevalence and patterns of non-farm enterprises in six sub-Saharan African countries, and study their performance in terms of labor productivity, survival and exit, using the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). Rural households operate enterprises due to both push and pull factors and tend to do so predominantly in easy-to enter activities, such as sales and trade, rather than in activities that require higher starting costs, such as transport services, or educational investment, such as professional services. Labor productivity differs widely: rural and female-headed enterprises, those located further away from population centers, and businesses that operate intermittently have lower levels of labor productivity compared to urban and male-owned enterprises, or enterprises that operate throughout the year. Finally, rural enterprises exit the market primarily due to a lack of profitability or finance, and due to idiosyncratic shocks. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available