Replication data for: Labor Drops: Experimental Evidence on the Return to Additional Labor in Microenterprises

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Suresh de Mel; David McKenzie; Christopher Woodruff

Version: View help for Version V1

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Project Citation:

de Mel, Suresh, McKenzie, David, and Woodruff, Christopher. Replication data for: Labor Drops: Experimental Evidence on the Return to Additional Labor in Microenterprises. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2019. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113732V1

Project Description

Summary: A field experiment in Sri Lanka provided wage subsidies to randomly chosen microenterprises to test whether hiring additional labor benefits such firms, and whether a short-term subsidy can have a lasting impact on firm employment. Using 12 rounds of surveys to track dynamics four years after treatment, we find that firms increased employment during the subsidy period. Treated firms were more likely to survive, but there was no lasting impact on employment, and no effect on profitability or sales either during or after the subsidy period. There is some heterogeneity in effects; the subsidies have more durable effect on manufacturers.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      C93 Field Experiments
      J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
      J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
      J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
      J38 Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: Public Policy
      O14 Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
      O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-12]

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DDI 2.5

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