Publication:
Small Business Training to Improve Management Practices in Developing Countries: Reassessing the Evidence for 'Training Doesn’t Work'

dc.contributor.author McKenzie, David
dc.date.accessioned 2020-09-24T20:39:50Z
dc.date.available 2020-09-24T20:39:50Z
dc.date.issued 2020-09
dc.description.abstract Despite the popularity of business training among policy makers, the use of business training has faced increasing skepticism. This is, in part, fueled by the fact that most of the first wave of randomized experiments in developing countries could not detect statistically significant impacts of training on firms' profits or sales. This paper revisits and reassesses the evidence for whether small business training works, incorporating the results of more recent studies. A meta-analysis of these estimates suggests that training increases profits and sales on average by 5 to 10 percent. The author argues that this is in line with what is optimistic to expect given the relatively short length of most training programs, and the expected return on investment from the cost of such training. However, impacts of this magnitude are too small for most experiments to detect statistically. Emerging evidence is provided on five approaches for improving the effectiveness of traditional training by incorporating gender, kaizen methods, localization and mentoring, heuristics, and psychology. Training programs that incorporate these elements appear to deliver improvements over traditional training programs on average, although with considerable variation. Given that training delivers some benefits for firms, the challenge is then how to deliver a quality program on a cost-effective basis at a much larger scale. Three possible approaches to scaling up training are discussed: using the market, using technology, or targeting and funneling firms. en
dc.identifier http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/593081600709463800/Small-Business-Training-to-Improve-Management-Practices-in-Developing-Countries-Reassessing-the-Evidence-for-Training-Doesn-t-Work
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34506
dc.language English
dc.publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseries Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9408
dc.rights CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder World Bank
dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subject BUSINESS TRAINING
dc.subject MICROENTERPRISES
dc.subject MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
dc.subject SOFT SKILLS
dc.subject ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
dc.subject KAIZEN METHODS
dc.subject MENTORING
dc.subject PSYCHOLOGY
dc.title Small Business Training to Improve Management Practices in Developing Countries en
dc.title.subtitle Reassessing the Evidence for 'Training Doesn’t Work' en
dc.type Working Paper en
dc.type Document de travail fr
dc.type Documento de trabajo es
dspace.entity.type Publication
okr.crossref.title Small Business Training to Improve Management Practices in Developing Countries: Reassessing the Evidence for “Training Doesn'T Work”
okr.date.disclosure 2020-09-21
okr.doctype Publications & Research
okr.doctype Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
okr.docurl http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/593081600709463800/Small-Business-Training-to-Improve-Management-Practices-in-Developing-Countries-Reassessing-the-Evidence-for-Training-Doesn-t-Work
okr.identifier.doi 10.1596/1813-9450-9408
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum 090224b087deb7a2_1_0
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum 32422037
okr.identifier.report WPS9408
okr.imported true en
okr.language.supported en
okr.pdfurl http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/593081600709463800/pdf/Small-Business-Training-to-Improve-Management-Practices-in-Developing-Countries-Reassessing-the-Evidence-for-Training-Doesn-t-Work.pdf en
okr.statistics.combined 5425
okr.statistics.dr 593081600709463800
okr.statistics.drstats 3727
okr.topic Private Sector Development :: Business Development Services
okr.topic Private Sector Development :: Enterprise Development & Reform
okr.topic Private Sector Development :: Microenterprises
okr.topic Private Sector Development :: Organizational Management
okr.topic Social Protections and Labor :: Skills Development and Labor Force Training
okr.unit Development Research Group, Development Economics
relation.isAuthorOfPublication 148d6d6d-76e5-5d6f-9af9-98313e30551f
relation.isSeriesOfPublication 26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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