Business Registration in Malawi Experimental Data and Replication Files 2011-2015
Malawi, 2011 - 2015
David McKenzie
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September 27, 2018
Last modified
September 27, 2018
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Identification
Survey ID Number
MWI_2011_BRIEL_v01_M
Title
Business Registration in Malawi Experimental Data and Replication Files 2011-2015
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Malawi | MWI |
Study type
Informal Sector Survey
Abstract
We conduct a randomized experiment in Malawi to test three alternative approaches to formalizing firms: a) assisting firms to obtain a business registration certificate that offers access to formal markets but imposes no tax obligations; b) assisting firms to obtain both this business registration and tax registration; and c) supplementing the assistance to obtain business registration with a bank information session intended to help firms utilize one of the key potential benefits of formalizing. This dataset consists of a baseline, four rounds of follow-up surveys, administrative data, and replication files for replicating the results of the paper "How should the government bring small firms into the formal system? Experimental evidence from Malawi"
Kind of Data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of Analysis
Microenterprise
Scope
Notes
The Malawi Enterprise study covered the following topics:
Baseline
- Basic information about the business
- Premises and equipment
- Finance
- Bank account and other financial services
- Business registration
- Production
- Price and sales
- Clients
- Profits, revenues and expenditures
- Financial literacy and preferences
- Challenges and thoughts about future
- Workers
- Training and networks
- Business owner
- Household information
- Household decision making
Midline and Endline
- Contact details of business owners
- Information on business operation
- Information about time dedicated to business
- Assets and new investments
- Credit
- Savings
- Bank account
- Registration
- Production, sales, and business practices
- Profits, revenues and expenditures
- Workers and business owners
- Opinions, income and household
Baseline
- Basic information about the business
- Premises and equipment
- Finance
- Bank account and other financial services
- Business registration
- Production
- Price and sales
- Clients
- Profits, revenues and expenditures
- Financial literacy and preferences
- Challenges and thoughts about future
- Workers
- Training and networks
- Business owner
- Household information
- Household decision making
Midline and Endline
- Contact details of business owners
- Information on business operation
- Information about time dedicated to business
- Assets and new investments
- Credit
- Savings
- Bank account
- Registration
- Production, sales, and business practices
- Profits, revenues and expenditures
- Workers and business owners
- Opinions, income and household
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
We target firms in urban Lilongwe and Blantyre, the major commercial cities in Malawi. At the end of 2011, we listed over 100 business centers - that is, concentrations of firms including industrial parks, markets, streets with shops, set of workshops, etc. - and randomly sampled 46 of these business centers (23 in each city) to list all businesses operating within these areas.
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| David McKenzie | World Bank |
Producers
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Francisco Campos | World Bank | co-PI |
| Markus Goldstein | World Bank | co-PI |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| International Initiative for Impact Evaluation | 3ie | Funder |
| Private Enterprise Development in Low Income Countries | PEDL | Funder |
| Bank Netherlands Partnership Program | BNPP | Funder |
| Strategic Research Program | SRP | Funder |
| Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality | UFGE | Funder |
| Investment Climate Impact Program | Funder |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
In this study we target the informal micro and small enterprises that are likely to be able to benefit the most from business registration, and that the government has said would be their first group of interest for a future road-show on business registration. We target firms in urban Lilongwe and Blantyre, the major commercial cities in Malawi. At the end of 2011, we listed over 100 business centers - that is, concentrations of firms including industrial parks, markets, streets with shops, set of workshops, etc. - and randomly sampled 46 of these business centers (23 in each city) to list all businesses operating within these areas. Through this process we listed 7,603 enterprises, 85 percent of which were not registered at the DRG. With this process, we excluded from the sample household-based enterprises.
To draw the sample for the baseline, we stratified the listing data by location and gender of the business owner and identified 3,600 firms that complied with one of the following criteria: (i) had at least one worker contracted outside of family members and business owners, (ii) were operating in a fixed location with more than one person working in the business, (iii) were at the 25th percentile of revenues or above. Through this process, we completed a detailed baseline survey for 3,002 informal firms, of which 1,195 were female-owned and 1,494 were from Lilongwe.
To draw the sample for the baseline, we stratified the listing data by location and gender of the business owner and identified 3,600 firms that complied with one of the following criteria: (i) had at least one worker contracted outside of family members and business owners, (ii) were operating in a fixed location with more than one person working in the business, (iii) were at the 25th percentile of revenues or above. Through this process, we completed a detailed baseline survey for 3,002 informal firms, of which 1,195 were female-owned and 1,494 were from Lilongwe.
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 2012-04 | Baseline |
| 2012-11 | 2013-03 | Follow-up 1 |
| 2013-11 | 2014-03 | Follow-up 2 |
| 2014-11 | 2015-03 | Follow-up 3 |
| 2015-06 | 2015-10 | Follow-up 4 |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Questionnaires
Questionnaires
Baseline questionnaire and four follow-up questionnaires attached
Access policy
Access authority
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| David McKenzie | World Bank | dmckenzie@worldbank.org |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| David McKenzie | World Bank | dmckenzie@worldbank.org |
| Francisco Campos | World Bank | fcampos@worldbank.org |
| Markus Goldstein | World Bank | mgoldstein@worldbank.org |
Confidentiality
All identifying information have been removed
Access conditions
Public use for non-commercial purposes
Citation requirements
Campos, Francisco, Markus Goldstein and David McKenzie (2018) "How should the government bring small firms into the formal system? Experimental evidence from Malawi", World Bank Policy Research Working Paper
Disclaimer and copyrights
Disclaimer
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
DDI_MWI_2011_BRIE_v01_M_WB
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development Economics Data Group | DECDG | The World Bank | Documentation of the DDI |
DDI Document version
Version 01 (September 2018)