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Using a newly assembled data set on procedures filed in Mexican labor tribunals, the authors of this paper study the determinants of final awards to workers. On average, workers recover less than 30 percent of their claim. The strongest result is that workers receive higher percentages of their claims in settlements than in trial judgments. It is also found that cases with multiple claimants against a single firm are less likely to be settled, which partially explains why workers involved in these procedures receive lower percentages of their claims. Finally, the authors find evidence that a worker who exaggerates his or her claim is less likely to settle.

Arbitration --- Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress --- Claim --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Information Security and Privacy --- Judgments --- Labor Courts --- Labor Markets --- Law and Development --- Law Enforcement Systems --- Legal Environment --- Multiple Claimants --- Private Law --- Private Parties --- Public Disclosure --- Settlement --- Settlements --- Social Protections and Labor

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Himmelberg, Hubbard, and Love combine the agency theory of the firm with risk diversification incentives for insiders. Principal-agent problems between insiders and outsiders force insiders to retain a larger share in their firm than they would under a perfect risk diversification strategy. The authors predict that this higher share of insider ownership and the resulting exposure of insiders to higher idiosyncratic risk will result in underinvestment and higher cost of capital. Using firm-level data from 38 countries, the authors provide evidence in support of their theoretical model, showing that the premium for bearing idiosyncratic risk varies between zero and six percent and decreases in the level of outside investor protection. The results of the study imply that policies aimed at strengthening investor protection laws and their enforcement will improve capital allocation and result in higher growth. This paper-a product of Finance, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to study corporate governance and access to finance. The authors may be contacted at cph15@columbia.edu or ilove@worldbank.org.

Capital Investment --- Capital Stock --- Contract --- Debt Markets --- Economic Theory and Research --- Emerging Markets --- Equity --- Equity Stakes --- Finance --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Development --- Financial Literacy --- Holding --- Investment --- Investment and Investment Climate --- Investment Decisions --- Investor --- Investor Protection --- Investor Protections --- Labor Policies --- Legal Environment --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Market --- Microfinance --- Outside Investors --- Ownership Structure --- Political Economy --- Private Sector Development --- Return --- Risk Aversion --- Shareholders --- Social Protections and Labor

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In April 2014, the Government of Benin launched the entreprenant status, a simplified and free legal regime offered to small informal businesses to enter the formal economy. This paper presents the short-term results of a randomized impact evaluation testing three different versions of the entreprenant status on business registration decisions, each version including incremental incentives to registration: (i) information on the new legal status and its benefits, (ii) business training, counseling services, and support to open a bank account, (iii) tax mediation services. The study included 3,600 informal businesses operating with a fixed location in Cotonou, Benin, which were randomly allocated between three treatment groups and one control group. One year after the program launch, all versions of the program had significant impact on formalization rates. The impact was 9.1 percentage points in the first treatment group; 13 percentage points in the second group; and 15.8 percentage points in the last group. The program had a higher impact on male business owners, with more education, operating outside Dantokpa Market, in sectors other than trade, and that before being offered the incentives to formalization had characteristics similar to businesses that were already formal. Data from a second follow-up survey, which is expected to take place in March 2016, will explore the impacts on other outcomes, like business performances or access to banking.

Access to bank --- Account --- Accounting --- Administration --- Administrative process --- Advertising --- Artisans --- Bank account --- Bank financing --- Bank loan --- Banking system --- Beneficiaries --- Bookkeeping --- Budget --- Business --- Business activity --- Business entry --- Business environment --- Business facilitation --- Business in development --- Business management --- Business performance --- Business plan --- Business registration --- Business regulation --- Business services --- Business training --- Cash transfers --- Certificate --- Chamber of commerce --- Check --- Collateral --- Commerce --- Commercial bank --- Commercial law --- Communication --- Competitiveness --- Competitiveness and competition policy --- Contact information --- Contract --- Cost --- Customers --- Data --- Database --- Debit card --- Debt markets --- Deposit --- Developing countries --- Direct costs --- Dummy variable --- E-business --- Economic activity --- Electricity --- Enabling environment --- Enterprise development --- Exchange --- Finance --- Finance and financial sector development --- Financial products --- Financial statements --- Firm performance --- Future --- Good --- Human capital --- ID --- Impact evaluation --- Impacts --- Implementation --- Implementing agencies --- Information --- Information banks --- Information services --- Inspection --- Institution --- International bank --- International development --- International finance --- Legal environment --- Levy --- Liability --- License --- Limited liability --- Link --- Loan --- Market --- Medium enterprises --- Microenterprises --- Mobile phone --- Monitoring --- Network --- New markets --- One-stop shop --- Open access --- Option --- Ownership --- Performance --- Phone --- Phone number --- Private sector development --- Productivity --- Profit --- Protocol --- Quality --- Quality of services --- Registration process --- Registration system --- Result --- Returns --- Sales --- Selling --- Share --- Small business --- Tax --- Tax exemption --- Tax forms --- Tax obligations --- Tax rate --- Tax regime --- Tax system --- Technical assistance --- Trade sector --- Trading --- Transparency --- Turnover --- Unfair competition --- Uses --- Web