Informality and Profitability : Evidence from a New Firm Survey in Ecuador

This paper estimates the impact of informality on firm profits using a new firm-level survey designed specifically for this study. The survey was administered to about 1,200 firms with 50 employees or less in Ecuador's two largest cities, Quit...

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Main Authors: Medvedev, Denis, Oviedo, Ana Maria
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2013
Subjects:
GPS
SME
TAX
WEB
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/05/17654994/informality-profitability-evidence-new-firm-survey-ecuador
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15573
id okr-10986-15573
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-155732021-04-23T14:03:19Z Informality and Profitability : Evidence from a New Firm Survey in Ecuador Medvedev, Denis Oviedo, Ana Maria ACCESS TO CREDIT ACCESS TO FINANCE ACCOUNTING ACCOUNTING PRACTICES AFFILIATE BANK LOAN BASIC NEEDS BORROWER BRIBES BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS BUSINESS FINANCE BUSINESS HOURS BUSINESS OBJECTIVES BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY BUSINESS OWNERS CASH FLOWS COMMERCIAL REGISTRY COMPANY CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT CORRUPTION CREDIT MARKET CUSTOMER BASE DEBT DOWNSIZING DUMMY VARIABLES EARNINGS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT ELECTRICITY EMPLOYEE EMPLOYER EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT GROWTH EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS ENTERPRISE GROWTH ENTERPRISE SURVEY ENTERPRISE SURVEYS ENTREPRENEUR ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY ENTREPRENEURS EQUIPMENT EXCLUSION EXPANSION EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES FAMILIES FAMILY BUSINESS FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS FIRM PERFORMANCE FIRM SIZE FIRM SIZES FIRMS FIXED COST FORMAL FINANCE GENDER GPS GROSS SALES INFORMAL LENDERS INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES INSPECTION INSPECTIONS INTEREST RATE INTEREST RATES INTERNATIONAL BANK INVENTORY LEGAL REQUIREMENT LIABILITY LICENSE LICENSES LOAN LOAN MATURITY LOAN SIZES MANUFACTURING MATURITIES MICRO-ENTERPRISE MICRO-ENTERPRISES MICRO-ENTREPRENEURS MICRO-FINANCE MUNICIPALITIES NEW BUSINESS NOTARY OPEN ACCESS PENALTIES PRESENT VALUE PRODUCTIVITY PROFITABILITY PUBLIC BANKS PUBLIC POLICIES RECEIPTS REGISTRY REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS RESULT RESULTS RETAINED EARNINGS SHOPS SMALL BUSINESS SMALL BUSINESS LENDING SMALL BUSINESSES SMALL FIRM SMALL FIRMS SME SME FINANCING SME SUPPORT PROGRAMS SOCIAL SECURITY SOURCE OF INCOME SOURCES OF FINANCE START-UP STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SUPPLIER TAX TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER TIME PERIODS TRANSPORT TURNOVER UNION URBAN AREAS USES VENDORS WEB This paper estimates the impact of informality on firm profits using a new firm-level survey designed specifically for this study. The survey was administered to about 1,200 firms with 50 employees or less in Ecuador's two largest cities, Quito and Guayaquil, plus two main centers of economic activity near the northern and southern borders. The paper's results confirm that the extent of firms' compliance with a set of regulatory requirements is linked to the perceived costs and benefits of informality, such as the probability of detection by the authorities and the likelihood of being fined. Nonetheless, taking into account the non-random placement of firms along the formality-informality spectrum and controlling for a large set of firm, owner, and location characteristics, the paper finds that more formal firms tend to be more profitable and have higher output per worker. This impact operates, inter alia, through more formal firms' ability to obtain improved access to credit and achieve higher sales by issuing receipts to clients. 2013-09-04T16:09:50Z 2013-09-04T16:09:50Z 2013-05 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/05/17654994/informality-profitability-evidence-new-firm-survey-ecuador http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15573 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6431 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Latin America & Caribbean Ecuador
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic ACCESS TO CREDIT
ACCESS TO FINANCE
ACCOUNTING
ACCOUNTING PRACTICES
AFFILIATE
BANK LOAN
BASIC NEEDS
BORROWER
BRIBES
BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS
BUSINESS FINANCE
BUSINESS HOURS
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
BUSINESS OWNERS
CASH FLOWS
COMMERCIAL REGISTRY
COMPANY
CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT
CORRUPTION
CREDIT MARKET
CUSTOMER BASE
DEBT
DOWNSIZING
DUMMY VARIABLES
EARNINGS
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
ELECTRICITY
EMPLOYEE
EMPLOYER
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS
ENTERPRISE GROWTH
ENTERPRISE SURVEY
ENTERPRISE SURVEYS
ENTREPRENEUR
ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY
ENTREPRENEURS
EQUIPMENT
EXCLUSION
EXPANSION
EXPENDITURE
EXPENDITURES
FAMILIES
FAMILY BUSINESS
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
FIRM PERFORMANCE
FIRM SIZE
FIRM SIZES
FIRMS
FIXED COST
FORMAL FINANCE
GENDER
GPS
GROSS SALES
INFORMAL LENDERS
INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES
INSPECTION
INSPECTIONS
INTEREST RATE
INTEREST RATES
INTERNATIONAL BANK
INVENTORY
LEGAL REQUIREMENT
LIABILITY
LICENSE
LICENSES
LOAN
LOAN MATURITY
LOAN SIZES
MANUFACTURING
MATURITIES
MICRO-ENTERPRISE
MICRO-ENTERPRISES
MICRO-ENTREPRENEURS
MICRO-FINANCE
MUNICIPALITIES
NEW BUSINESS
NOTARY
OPEN ACCESS
PENALTIES
PRESENT VALUE
PRODUCTIVITY
PROFITABILITY
PUBLIC BANKS
PUBLIC POLICIES
RECEIPTS
REGISTRY
REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
RESULT
RESULTS
RETAINED EARNINGS
SHOPS
SMALL BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS LENDING
SMALL BUSINESSES
SMALL FIRM
SMALL FIRMS
SME
SME FINANCING
SME SUPPORT PROGRAMS
SOCIAL SECURITY
SOURCE OF INCOME
SOURCES OF FINANCE
START-UP
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
SUPPLIER
TAX
TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
TIME PERIODS
TRANSPORT
TURNOVER
UNION
URBAN AREAS
USES
VENDORS
WEB
spellingShingle ACCESS TO CREDIT
ACCESS TO FINANCE
ACCOUNTING
ACCOUNTING PRACTICES
AFFILIATE
BANK LOAN
BASIC NEEDS
BORROWER
BRIBES
BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS
BUSINESS FINANCE
BUSINESS HOURS
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
BUSINESS OWNERS
CASH FLOWS
COMMERCIAL REGISTRY
COMPANY
CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT
CORRUPTION
CREDIT MARKET
CUSTOMER BASE
DEBT
DOWNSIZING
DUMMY VARIABLES
EARNINGS
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
ELECTRICITY
EMPLOYEE
EMPLOYER
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS
ENTERPRISE GROWTH
ENTERPRISE SURVEY
ENTERPRISE SURVEYS
ENTREPRENEUR
ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY
ENTREPRENEURS
EQUIPMENT
EXCLUSION
EXPANSION
EXPENDITURE
EXPENDITURES
FAMILIES
FAMILY BUSINESS
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
FIRM PERFORMANCE
FIRM SIZE
FIRM SIZES
FIRMS
FIXED COST
FORMAL FINANCE
GENDER
GPS
GROSS SALES
INFORMAL LENDERS
INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES
INSPECTION
INSPECTIONS
INTEREST RATE
INTEREST RATES
INTERNATIONAL BANK
INVENTORY
LEGAL REQUIREMENT
LIABILITY
LICENSE
LICENSES
LOAN
LOAN MATURITY
LOAN SIZES
MANUFACTURING
MATURITIES
MICRO-ENTERPRISE
MICRO-ENTERPRISES
MICRO-ENTREPRENEURS
MICRO-FINANCE
MUNICIPALITIES
NEW BUSINESS
NOTARY
OPEN ACCESS
PENALTIES
PRESENT VALUE
PRODUCTIVITY
PROFITABILITY
PUBLIC BANKS
PUBLIC POLICIES
RECEIPTS
REGISTRY
REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
RESULT
RESULTS
RETAINED EARNINGS
SHOPS
SMALL BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS LENDING
SMALL BUSINESSES
SMALL FIRM
SMALL FIRMS
SME
SME FINANCING
SME SUPPORT PROGRAMS
SOCIAL SECURITY
SOURCE OF INCOME
SOURCES OF FINANCE
START-UP
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
SUPPLIER
TAX
TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
TIME PERIODS
TRANSPORT
TURNOVER
UNION
URBAN AREAS
USES
VENDORS
WEB
Medvedev, Denis
Oviedo, Ana Maria
Informality and Profitability : Evidence from a New Firm Survey in Ecuador
geographic_facet Latin America & Caribbean
Ecuador
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6431
description This paper estimates the impact of informality on firm profits using a new firm-level survey designed specifically for this study. The survey was administered to about 1,200 firms with 50 employees or less in Ecuador's two largest cities, Quito and Guayaquil, plus two main centers of economic activity near the northern and southern borders. The paper's results confirm that the extent of firms' compliance with a set of regulatory requirements is linked to the perceived costs and benefits of informality, such as the probability of detection by the authorities and the likelihood of being fined. Nonetheless, taking into account the non-random placement of firms along the formality-informality spectrum and controlling for a large set of firm, owner, and location characteristics, the paper finds that more formal firms tend to be more profitable and have higher output per worker. This impact operates, inter alia, through more formal firms' ability to obtain improved access to credit and achieve higher sales by issuing receipts to clients.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Medvedev, Denis
Oviedo, Ana Maria
author_facet Medvedev, Denis
Oviedo, Ana Maria
author_sort Medvedev, Denis
title Informality and Profitability : Evidence from a New Firm Survey in Ecuador
title_short Informality and Profitability : Evidence from a New Firm Survey in Ecuador
title_full Informality and Profitability : Evidence from a New Firm Survey in Ecuador
title_fullStr Informality and Profitability : Evidence from a New Firm Survey in Ecuador
title_full_unstemmed Informality and Profitability : Evidence from a New Firm Survey in Ecuador
title_sort informality and profitability : evidence from a new firm survey in ecuador
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2013
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/05/17654994/informality-profitability-evidence-new-firm-survey-ecuador
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15573
_version_ 1764429437450846208