Finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) has been a concern for all stakeholders including entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and government organizations. The key objective of the study was to identify various challenges faced by MSMEs in sourcing of finance during...

This study explores firm-level data from the Philippines to uncover new stylized facts about the participation of manufacturing small and medium enterprise (SMEs) in global value chains (GVCs). The empirical analysis shows that manufacturing SMEs are weakly connected to foreign markets,...

Increased participation in global value chains is firmly related to the engagement of local producers in international markets through increasing sales in these markets. This study aims to examine factors affecting export performance of SMEs in the Kyrgyz Republic. Empirical estimations based on...

The current study examines the impact of GVCs on the performance of SMEs in Uva and central provinces of Sri Lanka while recognizing potential local business sectors that can be linked with GVCs. Apart from that, key challenges and main success factors in relation to linking SMEs with GVCs are...

This paper tests whether local financial development matters for SMEs' growth performance. We develop a theoretical model framework based on banks' and firms' profit-maximizing behavior that critically hinges upon credit default risk ratio. We argue that an expansion of branch network would...

Within a patriarchal society, women are placed in a precarious societal positioning that leads to a prevalence of gender inequality in education, financial literacy, and access to finance. In the context of Asia, where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of most Asian...

This study examines economic activity measured with firm performance indicators using the changes in intensity of night-time light in four CAREC economies: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. The empirical analysis is based on the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data for 2019 and...

This paper investigates whether better access to markets through an improved road network plays a role in improving the profitability of firms in India. We construct a district-level market access index using Indian road network shapefiles, district boundaries, and nightlight raster images and...

A growing literature is investigating the nature and size of the disparities in the performance of firms led by men and women. The extant literature in this regard is inconclusive and provides support for both the women's under-performance hypothesis and the superior performance of women-led...