Pathways Out of Poverty : Private Firms and Economic Mobility in Developing Countries

by Fields, Gary S.; Pfeffermann, Guy Pierre

• ISBN13: 9780821354049
• ISBN10: 0821354043
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-11-01
• Publisher: World Bank

Summary

Until recently, development economists tended to assume a role for private enterprises in reducing poverty, without articulating it explicitly. How private firms contribute to economic mobility and poverty reduction and what governments can do to enhance their contribution is the theme of this book. In developing countries, private enterprise is far and away the largest source of employment and investment and a significant source of government revenue. In addition to these tangible contributions, private enterprise is an important source of less tangible, but critically important, factors such as openness to ideas, innovation, and opportunity.The book presents new evidence, which demonstrates the essential role which private firms are playing in the course of economic development. Throughout, the focus is on economic mobility. Regional case studies ranging from the Far East to Sub-Saharan Africa hone in on the role of entrepreneurship in development. Drawing on the rich materials of the World Bank's Worldwide Business Environment Survey, key policy factors are identified. Special attention is paid to obstacles facing small and medium-sized enterprises.The concluding chapters focus on practical ways in which governments of developing and transition countries can encourage the capacity of poor people to move up the economic ladder.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	ix
Preface	xv
Peter Woicke
Foreword	xvii
Nicholas Stern
PART I. THE ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR: STUDIES AND EVIDENCE
Reducing Poverty: The Overall Framework	3	(10)
Guy Pfeffermann
Gary S. Fields
Escaping from Poverty: Household Income Dynamics in Indonesia, South Africa, Spain, and Venezuela	13	(22)
Gary S. Fields
Paul L. Cichello
Samuel Freije
Marta Menendez
David Newhouse
Long-term Economic Mobility and the Private Sector in Developing Countries: New Evidence	35	(30)
Gary S. Fields
Walter S. Bagg
Informal Self-Employment: Poverty Trap or Decent Alternative?	65	(20)
William F. Maloney
PART II. THE PRIVATE SECTOR AT WORK: CASES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Generating Upward Mobility: The Case of Korea and Private Sector Development	85	(20)
Se-Il Park
The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies	105	(18)
John McMillan
Christopher Woodruff
Opportunities off the Farm as a Springboard Out of Rural Poverty: Five Decades of Development in an Indian Village	123	(32)
Peter Lanjouw
Nicholas Stern
The Problem of African Entrepreneurial Development	155	(38)
Tyler Biggs
Manju Shah
PART III. THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
The Firms Speak: What the World Business Environment Survey Tells Us about Constraints on Private Sector Development	193	(22)
Geeta Batra
Daniel Kaufmann
Andrew H. W. Stone
Obstacles Facing Smaller Business in Developing Countries	215	(14)
Beatrice Weder
PART IV. PUBLIC POLICY AND PUBLIC ATTITUDES
Bringing SMEs into Global Markets	229	(18)
Kris Hallberg
Yasuo Konishi
The Role of Government in Enhancing Opportunity for the Poor: Economic Mobility, Public Attitudes, and Public Policy	247	(36)
Carol Graham
Index	283