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Survival and Success among African Manufacturing Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Alan Harding
  • Måns Söderbom
  • Francis Teal
Abstract
Recent reforms in most African economies of their trading and exchange rate regimes have eliminated much of the protection which previously limited competition. Despite these reforms, African manufacturing firms remain unsuccessful, particularly in international export markets. In this paper we consider the roles of learning, competition and market imperfections in determining three aspects of firm performance, namely firm exit, firm growth and productivity growth. We use a pooled panel data set of firms in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania that spans a period of five years. We find that the main determinant of exit is firm size, with small firms having much higher exit rates than large ones. Productivity impacts on firm survival among large firms, but not among small firms. Reasons for this result are discussed. We find evidence that, among surviving firms, old firms grow slower than young firms, which is interpreted as evidence consistent with market constraints limiting growth of firms in Africa. We find no evidence that larger firms have faster rates of productivity or input growth, or are more efficient in the sense of benefiting from scale economies. We also find that competitive pressure enhances productivity growth. Given that one of the objectives of the reform programmes implemented in all three countries was to stimulate higher efficiency levels, this finding shows that one aspect of the reform programme has been successful.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Harding & Måns Söderbom & Francis Teal, 2004. "Survival and Success among African Manufacturing Firms," CSAE Working Paper Series 2004-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2004-05
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. World Bank, 2007. "Uganda - Moving Beyond Recovery : Investment and Behavior Change, For Growth, Volume 1. Summary and Recommendations," World Bank Publications - Reports 7576, The World Bank Group.
    2. John Page, 2009. "Africa's Growth Turnaround," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28026.
    3. Arne Bigsten & Mans Söderbom, 2006. "What Have We Learned from a Decade of Manufacturing Enterprise Surveys in Africa?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 21(2), pages 241-265.
    4. Klapper, Leora & Richmond, Christine, 2011. "Patterns of business creation, survival and growth: Evidence from Africa," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(S1), pages 32-44.
    5. Janvier D. Nkurunziza, 2005. "The Effect of Credit on Growth and Convergence of Firms in Kenyan Manufacturing," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/2005-01, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    6. Elisha James & Felician Mutasa, 2022. "Factors Affecting Employee Productivity on Government Organizations in Tanzania: A Case of Shinyanga Regional Secretariat, Tanzania," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 32(1), pages 389-401, June.
    7. Leslie A. Martin & Shanthi Nataraj & Ann E. Harrison, 2017. "In with the Big, Out with the Small: Removing Small-Scale Reservations in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(2), pages 354-386, February.
    8. World Bank, 2007. "Uganda - Moving Beyond Recovery, Investment and Behavior Change, For Growth, Volume 2, Overview," World Bank Publications - Reports 7574, The World Bank Group.
    9. Ali, Merima & Peerlings, Jack H.M., 2011. "Farm Households Entry and Exit Into and From Non-farm Enterprises in Rural Ethiopia: Does Clustering Play a Role?," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114220, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Janvier D. Nkurunziza, 2005. "Credit Can Precipitate Firm Failure: Evidence from Kenyan Manufacturing in the 1990s," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/2005-04, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    11. Eyerusalem Siba & Måns Söderbom & Arne Bigsten & Mulu Gebreeyesus, 2012. "Enterprise Agglomeration, Output Prices, and Physical Productivity: Firm-Level Evidence from Ethiopia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-085, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Bigsten, Arne & Gebreeyesus, Mulu & Siba, Eyerusalem & Soderbom, Måns, 2012. "Enterprise Agglomeration, Output Prices, and Physical Productivity: Firm-Level Evidence from Ethiopia," WIDER Working Paper Series 085, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    • O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth
    • P - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems

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