A Firm-Level Productivity Diagnostic for Kenya's Manufacturing and Services Sector

This technical note implements a firm-level productivity diagnostic using the census of manufacturing firms and a large services survey in Kenya. By using a number of stylized productivity indicators, we aim to identify the ability of Kenyan firms to grow. The information presented in this diagnosti...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cusolito, Ana
Other Authors: Cirera, Xavier
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C The World Bank 2016
Series:World Bank E-Library Archive
Online Access:
Collection: World Bank E-Library Archive - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
LEADER 02075nmm a2200241 u 4500
001 EB002105602
003 EBX01000000000000001245692
005 00000000000000.0
007 cr|||||||||||||||||||||
008 221013 ||| eng
100 1 |a Cusolito, Ana 
245 0 0 |a A Firm-Level Productivity Diagnostic for Kenya's Manufacturing and Services Sector  |h Elektronische Ressource  |c Ana Cusolito 
260 |a Washington, D.C  |b The World Bank  |c 2016 
300 |a 1 pages 
700 1 |a Cusolito, Ana 
700 1 |a Cirera, Xavier 
041 0 7 |a eng  |2 ISO 639-2 
989 |b WOBA  |a World Bank E-Library Archive 
490 0 |a World Bank E-Library Archive 
028 5 0 |a 10.1596/24972 
856 4 0 |u http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/book/10.1596/24972  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
082 0 |a 330 
520 |a This technical note implements a firm-level productivity diagnostic using the census of manufacturing firms and a large services survey in Kenya. By using a number of stylized productivity indicators, we aim to identify the ability of Kenyan firms to grow. The information presented in this diagnostic will help to conduct evidence-based policy-making. Specifically, implementing firm-level productivity diagnostics provide the necessary information for (i) improving the targeting of economic policies, (ii) enhancing their effectiveness, (iii) making more accurate predictions of the effects of industry shocks and policy reforms on the economy, and (iv) understanding the behavior of macroeconomic variables by tracking the evolution of variables at the firm-level. This note shows that there is a lot of heterogeneity in firms' attributes and performance, and this can potentially be attributed to the presence of economic distortions that affect the efficient allocation of resources across firms, with the manufacturing sector showing a lackluster performance compared to the services sector. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of locating productivity at the center of the competitiveness agenda as a key instrument for employment creation and poverty reduction