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Exploring Firm-Level Innovation and Productivity in Developing Countries EXPLORING FIRM-LEVEL INNOVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES The Perspective of Caribbean Small States Editors Sylvia Dohnert Gustavo Crespi Exploring Firm-Level Innovation and Productivity in Developing Countries The Perspective of Caribbean Small States Editors Sylvia Dohnert Gustavo Crespi Alessandro Maffioli Cataloging-in-Publication data provided by the Inter-American Development Bank Felipe Herrera Library Exploring firm-level innovation and productivity in developing countries: the perspective of Caribbean small states / editors, Sylvia Dohnert, Gustavo Crespi and Alessandro Maffioli. p. cm. — (IDB Monograph ; 503) Includes bibliographic references. 1. Business enterprises-Technological innovations-Caribbean Area. 2. Technological innovations-Government policy-Caribbean Area. 3. Industrial productivity-Effect of technological innovations on-Caribbean Area. I. Dohnert, Sylvia. II. Crespi, Gustavo. III. Maffioli, Alessandro. IV. Inter-American Development Bank. Competitiveness and Innovation Division. V. Series. IDB-MG-503 Publication Code: IDB-MG-503 JEL Codes: D22, O12, O30 Keywords: access to finance, Caribbean, competition, electricity, firm performance, foreign direct investment, gender, innovation, productivity, public policy Copyright © 2017 Inter-American Development Bank. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC-IGO BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO) license (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/legalcode) and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB’s name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of the IDB’s logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC-IGO license. Note that the link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent. Inter-American Development Bank 1300 New York Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20577 www.iadb.org The Institutions for Development Sector was responsible for the production of this publication. External Vendors: Production Editor: Sarah Schineller (A&S Information Specialists, LLC) Editor: Sheila Mahoney Proofreader: Sue Debowski Design: Word Express, Inc. Contents Foreword ....................................................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. xi About the Editors and Contributors .................................................................................................. xiii Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. xvii Chapter 1: What Micro-level Data Tell Us about Productivity, Innovation, and Growth in the Caribbean ....................................................................................... 1 References .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Barriers to Innovation and Firm Productivity in the Caribbean .................... 9 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 10 Data and Methodology .................................................................................................................. 13 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 16 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 23 References .......................................................................................................................................... 25 Appendix: Variables and Definitions ........................................................................................ 28 Chapter 3: Access to Financing and Innovation in Caribbean Firms ................................. 29 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................. 31 Data and Methodology .................................................................................................................. 34 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 38 Policy Implications........................................................................................................................... 41 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 42 References .......................................................................................................................................... 43 Chapter 4: Competition and Innovation in the Caribbean ..................................................... 45 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................. 46 Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 48 Data Description ............................................................................................................................... 50 Descriptive Statistics ...................................................................................................................... 50 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 52 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 56 III References .......................................................................................................................................... 58 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................. 59 Chapter 5: Foreign Direct Investment and Innovation and Productivity in the Caribbean ................................................................................................................. 63 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................. 64 Methodology and Data .................................................................................................................. 66 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 68 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 77 References .......................................................................................................................................... 79 Appendix: Variables and Definition .......................................................................................... 84 Chapter 6: The Gender Gap in the Caribbean: The Performance of Women-Led Firms .................................................................. 85 The Literature on Gender Gap and Firm Productivity ...................................................... 86 Gender Gap in the Caribbean ..................................................................................................... 87 A Focus on the Gender Composition of Caribbean Firms .............................................. 89 Gender Composition and Firm Characteristics ................................................................... 91 Is There a Gender Gap in Firm Productivity? ....................................................................... 95 Blinder–Oaxaca Decomposition................................................................................................. 99 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 103 References .......................................................................................................................................... 105 Chapter 7: Firm Response to Erratic Power Supply: New Evidence from Caribbean Firms ....................................................................... 107 Data and Context ............................................................................................................................. 108 Empirical Approach .......................................................................................................................
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