"The authors study the effect of reorganization costs on the efficiency of bankruptcy laws. They develop a simple model that predicts that in a regime with high costs, the law fails to achieve the efficient outcome of liquidating unviable businesses and reorganizing viable ones. The authors test...

Eighth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulations in 183 economies, Doing Business 2011 measures regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit,...

"Innovation is key to technology adoption and creation, and to explaining the vast differences in productivity across and within countries. Despite the central role of the entrepreneur in the innovation process, data limitations have restricted standard analysis of the determinants of innovation...

"The authors examine the factors affecting the transition to self-employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, using the World Bank Living Standard Measurement Survey panel household survey for the years 2001-2004. In the beginning of the sample, the country changed its legal framework, with the...

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...

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...