High-growth firms have been widely studied in advanced countries, but little is known about such stellar performers in Africa. Using establishment-level data from Ethiopia, this paper finds that the incidence of high-growth firms stands at an average of 7 percent, a figure comparable to that of...

There is a global trend toward more production, use, and sale of services by manufacturing firms. This phenomenon is known as the servicification of manufacturing. Services inputs as well as services activities within manufacturing firms account for over half of the value of manufacturing...

This paper uses plant-level, panel data from the Ethiopian manufacturing census to estimate the effects of demand-side and supply-side factors on industrywide aggregate productivity. The paper focuses on the effects of three factors: (1) local market size, (2) the value of transportation costs...

This paper describes and benchmarks innovation activities for a sample of countries in the South Asia region, as well as the impact of these activities on firm-level productivity. The evidence gathered suggests that countries in the South Asia region can be divided into two groups, in terms of...

This paper explores the link between exports and total factor productivity in Brazilian manufacturing firms over the period 2000?08. The Brazilian experience is instructive, as it is a case of an economy that expanded aggregate exports significantly, but with stagnant aggregate growth in total...

Drawing on a representative sample of firms, this paper presents some microeconomic evidence on the productivity growth process in Croatia since the onset of recession (2008-12). Four types of results are highlighted. First, there is a persistent (and increasing) heterogeneity in the performance...

This paper analyzes the scale and productivity consequences of varied input use in Indian manufacturing using detailed plant-level data. Counts of distinct material inputs are higher in urban settings than in rural locations, unconditionally and conditional on plant size, and they are also...

This note presents the results of an empirical analysis of firm-level productivity growth in Russia's manufacturing sector during the period 2003-08 using a rich Amadeus database as well as the recent EBRD/World Bank Business Enterprise and Performance surveys (BEEPs). The results show that...

This paper examines the extent to which policy restrictions on foreign direct investment in the Indonesian service sector affected the performance of manufacturers over the period 1997-2009. It uses firm-level data on manufacturers' total factor productivity and the OECD's foreign direct...

The infrastructure gap is one of the most significant impediments to India realizing its growth and poverty reduction potential. Although India?s transport network is one of the most extensive in the world, accessibility and connectivity are limited. Only 20 percent of the national highway...