A large and growing fraction of workers receive wages that are insuficient to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Such low wages are to a large extent related to the low productivity of the jobs performed by these workers, which in turn are related to the poor productivity of the firms in which these workers are employed. In fact, there is a large correlation between receiving a low wage and being employed in a small firm. This project seeks to understand the reasons behind the low productivity levels and growth of small firms in Latin America as a precondition to lift a large number of workers from poverty and improve the dismal productivity performance of many Latin American economies. A number of competing hypothesis would be examined, among them the following: (1) insufficient access to capital, (2) Unfair competition of large firms towards small firms driven by poor or inexisting defense of competition laws and institutions (3) Inequal access to information or inputs; (4) low human capital of workers and managers.
Project Detail
Country
Regional
Project Number
RG-T1301
Approval Date
September 21, 2007
Project Status
Closed
Project Type
Technical Cooperation
Sector
PRIVATE FIRMS AND SME DEVELOPMENT
Subsector
MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
Lending Instrument
-
Lending Instrument Code
-
Modality
-
Facility Type
-
Environmental and Social Impact Category (ESIC)
-
Total Cost
USD 145,000.00
Country Counterpart Financing
USD 0.00
Original Amount Approved
USD 145,000.00