IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/jet/dpaper/dpaper670.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Enterprise promotion in the road construction sector in a conflict-ridden area in Kenya : a solution for the nexus of developmental problems?

Author

Listed:
  • Takahashi, Motoki

Abstract

Overcoming the missing middle syndrome by promoting growth of micro and small enterprises through training is a key to solve the nexus of problems including industrial stagnation, inequality, and ethnic confrontation in Africa. We focus on collaborative interventions by an international NGO and the Kenyan government to disseminate labor-based technology of road construction and strengthen managerial skills of youth self-help groups in a county ridden by an ethno-political conflict, called the Post-Election Violence. They tried to help groups formalize as corporations and develop their businesses through training. Our research reveals that ethnically homogenous groups might have better chances to obtain construction contracts but the reason would be trust among permanent members lowering internal transaction costs, rather than ethnicity itself. In conclusion, development of micro and small firms are to some extent determined by education of leaders and internal trust. Trainings could contribute in case groups are equipped with those conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Takahashi, Motoki, 2017. "Enterprise promotion in the road construction sector in a conflict-ridden area in Kenya : a solution for the nexus of developmental problems?," IDE Discussion Papers 670, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    • Handle: RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper670
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ir.ide.go.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=48999&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=1
    File Function: First version, 2017
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William Easterly & Ross Levine, 1997. "Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1203-1250.
    2. Gelb, Alan & Meyer, Christian J. & Ramachandran, Vijaya, 2014. "Development as diffusion: Manufacturing productivity and sub-Saharan Africa's missing middle," WIDER Working Paper Series 042, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Edward Miguel & Paul Gertler & David I. Levine, 2005. "Does Social Capital Promote Industrialization? Evidence from a Rapid Industrializer," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(4), pages 754-762, November.
    4. Mccormick, Dorothy, 1999. "African Enterprise Clusters and Industrialization: Theory and Reality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(9), pages 1531-1551, September.
    5. Alan Gelb, Christian Meyer, and Vijaya Ramachandran, 2014. "Development as Diffusion: Manufacturing Productivity and Sub-Saharan Africa’s Missing Middle - Working Paper 357," Working Papers 357, Center for Global Development.
    6. Miguel, Edward & Gertler, Paul & Levine, David I, 2006. "Does Industrialization Build or Destroy Social Networks?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(2), pages 287-317, January.
    7. Sleuwaegen, Leo & Goedhuys, Micheline, 2002. "Growth of firms in developing countries, evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 117-135, June.
    8. Hino,Hiroyuki & Lonsdale,John & Ranis,Gustav & Stewart,Frances (ed.), 2012. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Instability in Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107025998.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Casson, Mark C. & Della Giusta, Marina & Kambhampati, Uma S., 2010. "Formal and Informal Institutions and Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 137-141, February.
    2. Mano, Yukichi & Iddrisu, Alhassan & Yoshino, Yutaka & Sonobe, Tetsushi, 2012. "How Can Micro and Small Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa Become More Productive? The Impacts of Experimental Basic Managerial Training," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 458-468.
    3. Sher Singh Verick, 2016. "Manufacturing and jobs: is India different?," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 59(1), pages 57-84, March.
    4. Benjamin A. Olken, 2009. "Do Television and Radio Destroy Social Capital? Evidence from Indonesian Villages," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(4), pages 1-33, October.
    5. Meghana Ayyagari & Asli Demirgüc-Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2008. "How Well Do Institutional Theories Explain Firms' Perceptions of Property Rights?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(4), pages 1833-1871, July.
    6. Olivier Cadot & Jaime de Melo & Patrick Plane & Laurent Wagner & Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, 2016. "Industrialisation et transformation structurelle : l’Afrique subsaharienne peut-elle se développer sans usines ?," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 24(2), pages 19-49.
    7. Karl Pauw, 2022. "A review of Ghana’s planting for food and jobs program: implementation, impacts, benefits, and costs," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(5), pages 1321-1335, October.
    8. Dani Rodrik, 2018. "An African Growth Miracle?," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 27(1), pages 10-27.
    9. Kistruck, Geoffrey M. & Webb, Justin W. & Sutter, Christopher J. & Bailey, Anastasia V.G., 2015. "The double-edged sword of legitimacy in base-of-the-pyramid markets," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 436-451.
    10. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay & Elliott Green, 2021. "Explaining inter‐ethnic marriage in Sub‐Saharan Africa," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 627-643, May.
    11. Bill Battaile & Mr. Saurabh Mishra, 2015. "Transforming Non-Renewable Resource Economies (NREs)," IMF Working Papers 2015/171, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Klapper, Leora & Richmond, Christine & Tran, Trang, 2013. "Civil conflict and firm performance : evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6640, The World Bank.
    13. Harrison, Ann E. & Lin, Justin Yifu & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2014. "Explaining Africa’s (Dis)advantage," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 59-77.
    14. Thorsten Beck, 2003. "Small and medium enterprises, growth, and poverty : cross-country evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3178, The World Bank.
    15. Miller, Douglas L. & Scheffler, Richard & Lam, Suong & Rosenberg, Rhonda & Rupp, Agnes, 2006. "Social capital and health in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1084-1098, June.
    16. Alhassan Iddrisu & Yukichi Mano & Tetsushi Sonobe, 2012. "Entrepreneurial Skills and Industrial Development: The Case of a Car Repair and Metalworking Cluster in Ghana," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 3(3), pages 302-326, September.
    17. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, 2004. "SMEs, Growth, and Poverty," World Bank Publications - Reports 11278, The World Bank Group.
    18. Olivier CADOT & Jaime de MELO & Patrick PLANE & Laurent WAGNER & Martha TESFAYE WOLDEMICHAEL, 2017. "L’Afrique subsaharienne peut-elle se développer sans usines ?," Working Paper 084c8bee-b301-4412-8ca4-c, Agence française de développement.
    19. Janvier D. Nkurunziza, 2005. "The Effect of Credit on Growth and Convergence of Firms in Kenyan Manufacturing," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/2005-01, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    20. Nichter, Simeon & Goldmark, Lara, 2009. "Small Firm Growth in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1453-1464, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Kenya; Small and medium-scale enterprises; Construction industry; Internal conflicts; Ethnic problem; Micro and small enterprises; Corporatization and formalization; Socio-economic inequality; Ethnic enmity and conflicts; The missing middle syndrome; Stagnation of the industrial sector;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L74 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Construction
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • N67 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - Africa; Oceania
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper670. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michitaka Imamitsu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/idegvjp.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.