Business Environment and the Incorporation Decision

Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Inessa Love and Vojislav Maksimovic

No 3317, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Using firm-level data from 52 countries, the authors investigate how a country's institutions and business environment affect firms'organizational choices and the effects of organizational form on access to finance and growth. They find that businesses are more likely to choose the corporate form in countries with developed financial sectors and efficient legal systems, strong shareholder and creditor rights, low regulatory burdens and corporate taxes, and efficient bankruptcy processes. Corporations report fewer financing, legal, and regulatory obstacles than unincorporated firms, and this advantage is greater in countries with more developed institutions and favorable business environments. The authors find some evidence of highergrowth of incorporated businesses in countries with good financial and legal institutions.

Keywords: Microfinance; Small and Medium Size Enterprises; Economic Theory&Research; International Terrorism&Counterterrorism; Small Scale Enterprise; Economic Theory&Research; Private Participation in Infrastructure; Small Scale Enterprise; Microfinance; Legal Products (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec
Date: 2004-05-01
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Journal Article: Business environment and the incorporation decision (2006)
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