Mexico : Impact Evaluation of SME Programs Using Panel Firm Data
Unlike social programs targeting individuals, few enterprise support programs have been rigorously evaluated, and existing evaluations have mostly been done in high-income countries such as the United States and Europe. Mexico spends a large share...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2010/01/11692548/mexico-impact-evaluation-sme-programs-using-panel-firm-data http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19860 |
| Summary: | Unlike social programs targeting
individuals, few enterprise support programs have been
rigorously evaluated, and existing evaluations have mostly
been done in high-income countries such as the United States
and Europe. Mexico spends a large share of government
resources on small and medium enterprise programs each year.
How effective these programs have been in achieving their
objectives is unclear. In Mexico, impact evaluations of
small and medium enterprise programs are rare, and most are
qualitative in nature. This is the first paper evaluating
these programs in Mexico using firm-level panel data. The
continuous and ten-year panel data -- from the 1994-2005
period -- allow the authors to address selectivity bias and
unobserved firm heterogeneity by applying a generalization
of differences-in-differences models combined with
propensity score matching methods. This study finds evidence
that participation in small and medium enterprise programs
is associated with improvements in key variables such as
value added, gross production, and wages. Furthermore, the
study finds evidence that some of the positive effects can
take several years to realize. The results also call for
streamlining and greater efficiency in Mexico's small
and medium enterprise programs. |
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