Informal Sector Heterogeneity and Income Inequality : Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Adoho, Franck M. ; Doumbia, Djeneba

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: INFORMALITY;    INFORMAL SECTOR;    INEQUALITY;    FIRM PERFORMANCE;    ENTREPRENEURSHIP;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8328
RP-ID  :  WPS8328

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper uses 1-2-3 survey data on theDemocratic Republic of Congo to analyze heterogeneity in theinformal sector. It empirically identifies three types ofentrepreneurs in the sector. The first group ofentrepreneurs—top performers -- is growth oriented andenjoys greater access to capital. The secondgroup—constrained gazelles -- includes entrepreneurs whoshare many characteristics, especially management skills,with the top performers, but operate with less capital. Thethird group—survivalists—comprises firms struggling to grow.Based on logit and fixed effect ordinary least squaresmodels, the results presented in this paper show thatpoverty and income inequality are more common amongconstrained gazelles and survivalists. The paper also showsthat income inequality is explained mainly by educationaldisparities and lack of credit access among entrepreneurs.Additionally, the outcomes of a Blinder-Oaxaca decompositionshow that the performance of firms is a key factor inexplaining differences in income. Examining the drivers ofperformance, the paper finds that human capital andmanagerial skills are important engines of performance.