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Creating productive jobs is one of the greatest challenges in Ghana. This paper looks at job creation and its relationship with firm productivity and the quality of jobs among registered firms in the Ghanaian private sector, based on the 2013 World Bank Enterprise Survey. The study looks at the typology of firms in the industry and service sectors, identifying those that have created the most jobs, and the relative quality of these jobs in terms of productivity and firms' average wage bill. Although the formal private sector employs only a tiny share of total employment, the results show that larger and older firms account for the majority of workers, and formal jobs density is highest in Accra (Accra Metropolitan Area and Tema). Large firms also pay higher wages on average, are more productive, and account for most of the aggregate net formal job creation between 2010 and 2012. However, the relationship between size and productivity is positive and statistically significant, mostly driven by the upper part of the firm size distribution, pointing to potential market segmentations as micro, small, and medium firms create fewer jobs and are less productive. Removing barriers to the growth of micro, small, and medium size enterprises, and to the allocation of resources toward more efficient firms should be a key priority for policy makers.

Enterprise Surveys --- Job Creation --- Jobs and Development --- Micro-Enterprises --- Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Jobs --- SME Development

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A recent survey of rigorous impact evaluations of programs to help small and medium-size firms to formalize indicates that the programs do not seem to work for most informal firms. One of the few exceptions finds large effects of a tax simplification program in Brazil called SIMPLES on firms' formalization rates and performance indicators. Using the same data set but a different identification strategy, another study concludes that the program had limited effect on formalization rates. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it revisits the two studies to reconcile their conflicting conclusions. Second, it investigates the validity of the identification strategy of both studies. The findings suggest that the conflicting results between the two studies are caused by the dates each used to identify when the program was put into effect. A robustness check indicates that data heaping and seasonality around November cast doubts on the identification strategy used in both studies to estimate the effect of this particular program.

Business Environment. --- Business Taxation. --- E-Business. --- Education. --- Finance and Financial Sector Development. --- Private Sector Development. --- Regression Discontinuity Design. --- Science and Technology Development. --- Science Education. --- Scientific Research and Science Parks. --- Simples Program. --- Small Scale Enterprise. --- Sme Development.