Small Enterprise Growth and the Rural Investment Climate: Evidence from Tanzania

• Tác giả: Tidiane Kinda
• Ngôn ngữ: eng
• Ký hiệu phân loại: 338.9 Economic development and growth
• Thông tin xuất bản: 2012
• Bộ sưu tập: Tài liệu truy cập mở
• ID: 303033
• Chủ đề: 1. Capital Budgeting; 2. Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope L250; 3. Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies G310; 4. National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures; 5. Other Public Investment and Capital Stock H540

Tóm tắt

This paper analyzes characteristics of nonfarm enterprises, their employment growth patterns, and constraints in doing business in rural Tanzania. Using unique survey data, we describe a low-return sector struggling to compete in a challenging business environment. However, about one-third of rural enterprises are growing fast. Most enterprises engage in agricultural trade. Due to a rapidly growing agricultural sector in recent years, limiting demand-side constraints, rural enterprise constraints in Tanzania mainly operate from the supply-side, suggesting that in particular access to finance, road infrastructure and rural cell phone communication is associated with employment growth. A major finding is that subjective and objective measurements of business constraints are broadly comparable. We discuss a number of factors that would help to unleash the full potential of private sector-led growth in rural areas. Marginal improvements of the rural investment climate matter for growth.