Doing Business 2011: making a difference for entrepreneurs is the eighth in a series of annual reports investigating regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property...

Lebanon has faced a continuous series of economic setbacks fueled by mounting political uncertainties and war over the decades. The current global financial crisis compounds the levels of uncertainty and anxiety facing households with regards to their future security. The need for earned income...

The Ghana Microfinance Institution (MFI) action research network brings together organizations interested in providing financial services to the poor in Ghana. With World Bank support, the network carried out this study which provides brief descriptions of the innovations that informal,...

This report presents the results of various experimental studies that try to address, from different perspectives, the challenges of supporting the growth and profitability of women entrepreneurs. In Mexico, women tend to be overrepresented in the category of microentrepreneurs, who often have...

The report focuses on sectoral choice as one of the contributors to the gender gap in firm performance. It explores the difference in profits among female entrepreneurs who cross over into male-dominated sectors (MDS) compared to those who remain in traditionally female-concentrated sectors...

Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die technologische Leistungsfähigkeit Deutschlands im internationalen Vergleich. Sie zeigt, dass die deutsche Wirtschaft in der Summe eine relativ starke Spezialisierung auf die forschungsintensiven Industrien und die wissensintensiven Dienstleistungen...

Hochentwickelte Volkswirtschaften wie Deutschland können im internationalen Wettbewerb am ehesten mit solchen Dienstleistungen und Gütern Erfolge erzielen und damit Wachstum und Beschäftigung sichern, die einen hohen Einsatz von Wissen und Technologie erfordern. Die Studie untersucht deshalb...

New businesses are likely to have been even more severely affected by the crisis than mature businesses, even in non crisis times, new and young firms tend to be more constrained than older firms which often have established reputations and enjoy easier access to finance. Given the sudden...