Intergenerational Transmission of Self-Employed Status in the Informal Sector : A Constrained Choice or Better Income Prospects? Evidence from Seven West-African Countries
Social reproduction is the highest for self-employed as shown by an extensive literature from developed and developing countries. Very few studies however document the reason for this high intergenerational correlation of the self-employed status....
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/616601468319738792/Intergenerational-transmission-of-self-employed-status-in-the-informal-sector-a-constrained-choice-or-better-income-prospects-Evidence-from-seven-West-African-countries http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27309 |
| Summary: | Social reproduction is the highest for
self-employed as shown by an extensive literature from
developed and developing countries. Very few studies however
document the reason for this high intergenerational
correlation of the self-employed status. The purpose of this
paper is to test if the second-generation of self-employed
has an advantage related to the first-generation in the
African context. It aims at highlighting the debate on firms
heterogeneity in the informal sector, by identifying factors
of informal business success. In addition, this paper seeks
to contribute to understand the intergenerational
transmission of inequalities. Using 1-2-3 surveys collected
in the commercial capitals of seven West African countries
in 2001-2002, this paper shows that the second-generation of
informal self-employed does not have better outcomes than
the first one, except when they choose a familial tradition
in the same sector of activity. Thus, in the African
context, having a self-employed father does not provide any
advantage in terms of profit or sales and is not sufficient
for the transmission of valuable skills. On the other hand,
informal entrepreneurs who have chosen a specific enterprise
based on familial tradition have a competitive advantage.
Their competitive advantage is partly explained by the
transmission of enterprise-specific human capital, acquired
through experiences in the same type of activity and by the
transmission of social capital that guarantees a better
clientele and a reputation. |
|---|