informality as a continuum consisting of four degrees. The quantitative data includes 516 manufacturing enterprises which are … effects of formalization. It suggests that the most informal firms do not benefit from formalization due to their underlying … formalization and firm outcomes. Instead of applying a binary formality indicator, it constructs a conceptual framework that regards …

process. Yet, formalization has many facets and shades on the business and labor fronts, and firms may not be able or willing …Too often, academics and policy makers interpret formality as a binary choice and formalization as an irreversible … to formalize all at once. This paper explores the joint process of business and labor formalization, using a unique panel …

Encouraging informal firms to register with the government is a key policy issue for developing economies. However, the … results show that formalization has a significantly positive impact on sales, value added, and regularly employed workers, but … business growth of formalized firms by hiring more formal workers. (Asian Dev Rev/GIGA) …

tax formalization, i.e. a firm’s decision to pay taxes. This positive association only holds for firms that were already …Using a unique panel survey of enterprises, we examine the relationship between four categories of formalization and … doubly robust estimators. The only formalization category that appears to be significantly associated with productivity is …

find little evidence for most of the channels through which formalization is hypothesized to benefit firms, although …The majority of firms in most developing countries are informal. We conducted a field experiment in Sri Lanka which … provided incentives for informal firms to formalize. Offering only information about the registration process and reimbursement …

test which government actions work in getting informal firms to register. Firms were randomized to a control group or one …, and a significant but small increase in formalization from inspections. Our LATE estimates of the impact of actually … results show most informal firms won't formalize unless forced to do so, suggesting formality offers little private benefit to …

Based on a unique panel dataset consisting of both formal and informal firms surveyed every other year from 2005 to … 2013, this paper explores the benefits of formalization to the government and firm employees in Vietnam. We find that … formalization benefits the government by increasing the amount and the likelihood of tax payments. Formalization also increases the …

This paper examines the relationship between formalization and firm-level outcomes in Vietnam using a unique panel … dataset. Results show that switching firms differ from informal nonswitching firms, confirming heterogeneity. We also find … that becoming formal leads to increased profits, value added, and revenue. The performance of switching firms is higher …

find little evidence for most of the channels through which formalization is hypothesized to benefit firms, although …The majority of firms in most developing countries are informal. We conducted a field experiment in Sri Lanka which … provided incentives for informal firms to formalize. Offering only information about the registration process and reimbursement …