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Firm Survival and Change in Ghana, 2003-2013

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  • Elwyn Davies
  • Andrew Kerr

Abstract

How did Ghanaian manufacturing firms change in the period between 2003 and 2013? This paper presents results from a survey of 1000 firms in Ghana, conducted in 2013, which were randomly selected from the 2003 Ghanaian National Industrial Census. This survey allows us to track survival and exit of firms between 2003 and 2013. We find strong regional differences and also differences for small, medium and large firms. The exit rate of firms in Kumasi, the second city, is lower than in Accra, but the growth rate of firms in Kumasi was also lower. Small firms were more likely to exit than large firms. Overall, the picture we paint of manufacturing in Ghana is not a positive one: total employment by firms operating before 2003 decreased from 134 863 in 2003 to 74 319 in 2013. It remains a question to what extent this was compensated by new employment by firms that entered after 2003, who were not surveyed. We also consider the firm size distribution evolution, and show that selection plays some role in explaining the positive correlation between firm size and age, but that this is less strong than in earlier studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Elwyn Davies & Andrew Kerr, 2015. "Firm Survival and Change in Ghana, 2003-2013," CSAE Working Paper Series 2015-06, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2015-06
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. David McKenzie & Anna Luisa Paffhausen, 2019. "Small Firm Death in Developing Countries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 645-657, October.
    2. Andam, Kwaw S. & Asante, Seth, 2018. "Firm employment, exit, and growth in the food processing sector: Evidence from Ghana," IFPRI discussion papers 1755, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Andam, K. & Asante, S., 2018. "Determinants of firm exit and growth in the food processing sector: Evidence from Ghana," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277487, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Florian Leon, 2019. "The elusive quest for high- growth firms in Africa: The (lack of) growth persistence in Senegal," Working Papers hal-02493326, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm survival; Firm growth; Ghana; Firm size; Firm size distribution; Selection;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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