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| Title: | The Hazards of Small Firms in Southern Africa |
| Author: | McPherson, Michael A. |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Periodical: | Journal of Development Studies |
| Volume: | 32 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Period: | October |
| Pages: | 31-54 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic terms: | Botswana Swaziland - Eswatini Zimbabwe Malawi |
| Subjects: | small enterprises Development and Technology Economics and Trade |
| External link: | https://doi.org/10.1080/00220389508422400 |
| Abstract: | The micro and small enterprise (MSE) sector in most developing countries is extremely dynamic, with new firms being started, existing firms changing, and others closing down. An improved understanding of firm closure could enhance the ability of governments and assistance agencies to promote MSEs. This paper examines which characteristics of an MSE and its proprietor lead to survival of the enterprise, and which lead to closure. To this end, a unique set of data involving over 21,500 MSE in four southern African countries is examined using an analysis technique which has until now not been used to study firm dynamics, viz. hazard modelling. The following variables are studied: enterprise size and growth rates, sector, location, and gender of the proprietor. The data were generated from country-wide surveys of the Kingdom of Swaziland, Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe, conducted in 1991 and 1992. The analysis shows that firms that have grown, firms involved in manufacturing or services, firms operating outside the home, firms in urban areas, and firms run by men are often less likely to close. App., bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. |
