The Investment Climate Survey covered a stratified sample of 453 firms. The sample encompassed five provinces (Azuay, Guayas, Manabi, Pichincha and Tungurahua) and 10 manufacturing sectors (oil-derived products, food, beverages, textiles, garments, leather products, wood products, chemicals, rubber and plastic products, and metal products). The sectors covered in the survey are responsible for 86% of the combined value added of mining and manufacturing.
The sample frame was drawn from a list of firms provided by the Superintendency of Companies, and it is representative at the level of economic sectors, with sample sizes chosen to ensure that binomial variables can be estimated with a 90% confidence and a 10% error. After determining the sample size at the level of sectors,
the sample was proportionally allocated to provinces and size ranges. About 48% of the sample is from the province of Pichincha, 36% from Guayas, and the rest is divided between Azuay (7%), Manabi (4%) and Tungurahua (5%). In most provinces the sample includes plants of all sizes: 22% have more than 100 employees, 48% have 21 to 100 workers, and 30% have 20 or fewer employees.
