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What are we learning from business training and entrepreneurship evaluations around the developing world?
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McKenzie, David and Woodruff, Christopher (2013) What are we learning from business training and entrepreneurship evaluations around the developing world? Working Paper. Coventry, UK: Department of Economics, University of Warwick. CAGE Online Working Paper Series, Volume 2013 (Number 116).
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Text (Working paper )
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Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear...
Abstract
Business training programs are a popular policy option to try to improve the performance of enterprises
around the world. The last few years have seen rapid growth in the number of evaluations of these
programs in developing countries. We undertake a critical review of these studies with the goal of
synthesizing the emerging lessons and understanding the limitations of the existing research and the
areas in which more work is needed. We find that there is substantial heterogeneity in the length,
content, and types of firms participating in the training programs evaluated. Many evaluations suffer
from low statistical power, measure impacts only within a year of training, and experience problems
with survey attrition and measurement of firm profits and revenues. Over these short time horizons,
there are relatively modest impacts of training on survivorship of existing firms, but stronger evidence
that training programs help prospective owners launch new businesses more quickly. Most studies find
that existing firm owners implement some of the practices taught in training, but the magnitudes of
these improvements in practices are often relatively modest. Few studies find significant impacts on
profits or sales, although a couple of the studies with more statistical power have done so. Some studies
have also found benefits to microfinance organizations of offering training. To date there is little
evidence to help guide policymakers as to whether any impacts found come from trained firms
competing away sales from other businesses versus through productivity improvements, and little
evidence to guide the development of the provision of training at market prices. We conclude by
summarizing some directions and key questions for future studies.
Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper) | ||||
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Alternative Title: | |||||
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Developing countries -- Economic conditions, Business enterprises -- Developing countries, Training -- Developing countries | ||||
Series Name: | CAGE Online Working Paper Series | ||||
Publisher: | Department of Economics, University of Warwick | ||||
Place of Publication: | Coventry, UK | ||||
Official Date: | 2013 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Volume 2013 | ||||
Number: | Number 116 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 35 | ||||
Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Status: | Not Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 1 August 2016 | ||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 1 August 2016 | ||||
Funder: | World Bank, United Nations Foundation |
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