Growing Markets Through Business Training for Female Entrepreneurs: A Market-Level Randomized Experiment in Kenya

55 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2018 Last revised: 27 May 2018

See all articles by David J. McKenzie

David J. McKenzie

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Susana Puerto

International Labour Organization (ILO)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 3, 2017

Abstract

A common concern with efforts to directly help some small businesses to grow is that their growth comes at the expense of their unassisted competitors. This study tests this possibility using a two-stage randomized experiment in Kenya. The experiment randomizes business training at the market level, and then within markets to selected businesses. Three years after training, the treated businesses are selling more, earn higher profits, and their owners have higher well-being. There is no evidence of negative spillovers on the competing businesses, and the markets as a whole appear to have grown in terms of number of customers and sales volumes. This market growth appears to come from enhanced customer service and new product introduction, generating more customers and more sales from existing customers. As a result, business growth in underdeveloped markets is possible without taking sales away from nontreated businesses.

Keywords: Private Sector Economics, Private Sector Development Law, Marketing, Gender and Development, Mental Health, Employment and Unemployment, Labor Markets

Suggested Citation

McKenzie, David John and Puerto, Susana, Growing Markets Through Business Training for Female Entrepreneurs: A Market-Level Randomized Experiment in Kenya (March 3, 2017). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7993, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3169614

David John McKenzie (Contact Author)

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG) ( email )

1818 H. Street, N.W.
MSN3-311
Washington, DC 20433
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Susana Puerto

International Labour Organization (ILO)

Route des Morillons 4
Geneva, 1211
Switzerland

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