Network Proximity and Business Practices in African Manufacturing

Fafchamps, Marcel ; Sö ; derbom, Må ; ns

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: BUSINESSES;    CAPACITY BUILDING;    CLERKS;    CODES;    COMPANY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6474
RP-ID  :  WPS6474

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Patterns of correlation in innovationand contractual practices among manufacturing firms inEthiopia and Sudan are documented. Network data thatindicate whether any two firms in the utilized sample dobusiness with each other, buy inputs from a common supplier,or sell output to a common client are used for the analysis.Only limited support is found for the commonly held ideathat firms that are more proximate in a network sense aremore likely to adopt similar practices. Indeed, for certainpractices, adoption decisions appear to be local strategicsubstitutes: if one firm in a given location uses a certainpractice, nearby firms are less likely to do so. Theseresults suggest that the diffusion of technology and newbusiness practices may play a more limited role in spurringgrowth in Africa's manufacturing sector than is oftenassumed in the present policy discussion.