Karlan, DeanSchoar, AntoinetteBruhn, Miriam2013-09-262013-09-262013-06https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15867Using a randomized evaluation with 432 Mexican small and medium enterprises, this paper shows that access to management consulting led to better firm performance: one-year results show positive effects on return-on-assets and total factor productivity. Owners also had large increases in "entrepreneurial spirit" (an entrepreneurs' managerial confidence index). Using Mexican social security data, the analysis finds a large increase in the number of employees and total wage bill several years after the program. The paper documents large heterogeneity in the specific managerial practices that improved as a result of the consulting, but there is no singular mechanism as a panacea for all firms.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO CREDITACCOUNTINGACCOUNTING PRACTICESACCOUNTSACQUISITIONADMINISTRATIVE RECORDSADVERTISINGALTERNATIVE FINANCINGASSETSBOOKKEEPINGBUSINESS ACTIVITIESBUSINESS ASSOCIATIONSBUSINESS DEVELOPMENTBUSINESS OWNERSBUSINESS PARTNERSBUSINESS PERFORMANCEBUSINESS PROCESSBUSINESS PROCESSESBUSINESS TRAININGCOMMERCECOMPANYCOMPUTERSCONFIDENTIALITYCONSULTING SERVICESCONTACT INFORMATIONCORPORATIONSCOVARIANCE MATRIXCREDIT MARKETCREDIT MARKET FAILURECREDIT SCORINGDATA ANALYSISDATA DEFINITIONSDATA ENTRYDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDEVELOPMENT POLICYECONOMIC CRISISECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC SITUATIONEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEMPLOYEEEMPLOYMENTENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENTENTERPRISE GROWTHENTERPRISE SIZEENTREPRENEURIAL ATTITUDESENTREPRENEURSENTREPRENEURSHIPEQUIPMENTEXPENDITUREFAMILIESFINANCESFINANCIAL ACCESSFINANCIAL CONSTRAINTSFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFINANCIAL LITERACYFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SUPPORTFIRM SIZEFIRMSGENDERGOVERNMENT FUNDINGHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN RESOURCEHUMAN RESOURCESHUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENTIMPACT EVALUATIONINFORMATION ON ENTERPRISEINNOVATIONSINSTALLATIONSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL STANDARDINVENTORYJOB CREATIONLACK OF INFORMATIONLIQUIDITYLOANMANAGERIAL SKILLSMANUFACTURINGMARGINAL PRODUCTIVITYMARKETINGMEDIUM ENTERPRISESMEDIUM SIZE ENTERPRISESMICRO ENTERPRISESMICRO ENTREPRENEURSMICROCREDITMICROCREDIT PROGRAMMICROENTERPRISESMICROFINANCEMICROFINANCE CLIENTSMISSING VALUENATURAL RESOURCENEW PRODUCTSOPEN ACCESSORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTUREPHYSICAL CAPITALPOSITIVE EFFECTSPRIVACYPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTPRODUCTIVITYPROFIT MARGINPROFITABILITYQUALITY CONTROLRAW DATAREPORTINGRESULTRESULTSRISK AVERSIONSALESSIZE OF FIRMSKILL BUILDINGSMALL BUSINESSESSMALL ENTERPRISESSOCIAL SECURITYSUPERVISIONSUPPLIERSTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETIME PERIODSTOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITYTRADE FAIRSTRANSMISSIONUSESVERIFICATIONWAGESWEBmanagerial capitalWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-6508