TY - RPRT A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Pereira-López, Mariana T1 - ICT Adoption and Wage Inequality: Evidence from Mexican Firms T2 - Policy Research working paper N2 - This paper uses a panel of firms from the Mexican Economic Censuses and analyzes at the microeconomic level how labor markets adapt to the adoption of information and communication technologies. The paper studies the effects of the adoption of information and communication technologies over the labor structure of the firm and wages. Thus, it assesses whether increasing the use of information and communication technologies leads to an increasing demand for skilled relative to low-skilled labor, and, thus, analyzes its effects on the wage gap between the two groups. The results of this analysis show that there is indeed an effect of the adoption of information and communication technologies over the demand for higher-skilled workers. However, for the manufacturing and services sectors, instead of increasing the wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers, the wage gap decreases. The results for the manufacturing sector appear to be driven by an increasing sophistication of blue-collar workers due to the organizational adjustments derived from the adoption of information and communication technologies. Y1 - 2018 UR - http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/295511515507675734/ICT-adoption-and-wage-inequality-evidence-from-Mexican-firms CY - Washington, D.C. ET - WPS 8298 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Sanchez-Bayardo, Luis Fernando A1 - Gonzalez, Alvaro T1 - Micro-level analysis of Mexican retail markets and their response to changes in market structure and competition policies T2 - Policy Research working paper N2 - This paper develops the following price indicators to measure the relative efficiency (functioning) of markets: (a) price dispersion, (b) price volatility, and (c) price transmission (speed, completeness, and symmetry). The paper uses these indicators to study trends and conditions of the outlet level in retail prices for common commodities sold throughout Mexico. The analysis examines price patterns for each indicator across commodities, regions, and time. The descriptive results indicate that although there is (expected) heterogeneity in the behavior of these indicators across commodities, location variables explain the most variation in the indicators. There are clear and persistent regional- and commodity-specific effects. Thus, the study concludes that Mexico is not one, well-integrated national market. The study tested whether changes in these indicators (increased efficiency) have the expected correlation with measures affecting the functioning of markets. It considered changes in competition and entry of large retail stores in the local retail market. These changes affect market efficiency in the way theory would predict. The results suggest that these indicators are good measures of the relative efficiency (functioning) of markets. The findings also suggest that efforts to monitor markets using these indicators may be useful. For example, for policy makers who are concerned about the distributional effects of liberalizing trade, the indicators may predict where price impacts will be felt the most and by whom. In addition, the indicators provide preliminary information about relative competition levels, which may be helpful in saving the time and effort of the competition authorities and possibly making them more effective. Y1 - 2018 UR - http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/110401515422368009/Micro-level-analysis-of-Mexican-retail-markets-and-their-response-to-changes-in-market-structure-and-competition-policies PB - World Bank Group CY - Washington, D. C. ET - WPS 8294 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Coutino, Pablo Gordillo A1 - Pereira-López, Mariana T1 - Robots at the Tropics N2 - In recent years, a growing concern has emerged regarding the potential effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotization on firms, and even more specifically on workers and the risks for their displacement (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2014; Acemoglu and Restrepo, 2017; Graetz and Michaels, 2015, among others). The emphasis of current research studies has been driven by the rapid decrease in the prices of robots, that according to Graetz and Michaels (2015) fell by 2005 to one fifth of its 1990 level adjusting for quality. Consequently, utilization of robots has increased in a wide range of different industries, with the operational stock of robots doubled between 2005 and 2016, reaching 1,828,024 units by the end of 2016 and expected to reach three millions by 2020 (International Federation of Robotics, 2017). The evidence on the impact of robots on the global economy is still very limited and the results of recent studies exhibit great differences. For example, while Frey and Osborne (2017) indicate that the number of jobs that are in risk of automation could account for around 50%, Arntz et al.(2017) argue that this figure is overestimated due to the fact that the heterogeneity of tasks within occupations is not considered, which would reduce this number to around 9%. Y1 - 2018 UR - http://jobsanddevelopmentconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/liacovone_s1rB.pdf ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Campos, Francisco A1 - Frese, Michael A1 - Goldstein, Markus A1 - Johnson, Hillary C A1 - McKenzie, David A1 - Mensmann, Mona T1 - Is Personal Initiative Training a Substitute or Complement to the Existing Human Capital of Women? Results from a Randomized Trial in Togo JF - AEA Papers and Proceedings N2 - Personal initiative training—a psychology-based mindset training program—delivers lasting improvements for female business owners in Togo. Which types of women benefit most? Theories of dynamic complementarity would suggest training should work better for those with higher pre-existing human capital, but there are also reasons why existing human capital might inhibit training participation or substitute for its effects. We examine the heterogeneity in treatment impact according to different types of human capital. We find little evidence of either complementarities or substitutability, suggesting this new business training approach can work for a wide range of human capital levels. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20181026 IS - 108 SP - 256 EP - 261 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Calderón, Gabriela A1 - MacGregor, Cristina T1 - Participating or Not? Characteristics of Female Entrepreneurs Participating in and Completing an Entrepreneurial Training Program JF - AEA Papers and Proceedings N2 - Who are the female entrepreneurs who end up starting and completing entrepreneurial training programs? In this paper, relying on a large set of baseline characteristics collected before the entrepreneurs are selected into an entrepreneurial training program in Mexico, we analyze how the women entrepreneurs who complete the training program differ from those who do not take it up, as well as how those who take it up but drop off before completing differ from those who do not even start. We uncover large differences in performance and non-cognitive skills but no differences in inputs used. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20181023 IS - 108 SP - 246 EP - 251 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Campos, Francisco A1 - Frese, Michael A1 - Goldstein, Markus A1 - Johnson, Hillary A1 - McKenzie, David A1 - Mensmann, Mona T1 - Personal Initiative Training Leads to Remarkable Growth of Women-Owned Small Businesses in Togo T2 - Gender innovation lab policy brief N2 - Standard business training programs aim to boost the incomes of the millions of self-employed business owners in developing countries, by teaching accounting, marketing and other basic business skills. However, research shows limited impacts of this traditional business training approach. Through an experiment in Togo, we introduced the personal initiative training program, a new and effective psychology-based entrepreneurship training that outperforms traditional business training. The personal initiative training increased firm profits in Togo by 30 percent relative to a control group, compared to no significant impacts from a traditional business training. Personal initiative training led to more than just a boost in profits for micro entrepreneurs. After the training business owners were more innovative, introduced new products, borrowed more and made larger investments. The personal initiative training was particularly effective for female entrepreneurs, for whom traditional training has often been in effective. Women who received personal initiative training saw their profits increase by 40 percent, compared to 5 percent for traditional business. This study’s findings make a strong case for the role of psychology in better influencing how small business training programs are taught in West Africa and beyond. It shows the importance of developing an entrepreneurial mindset in addition to learning the business practices of successful entrepreneurs. Based on these promising results, the personal initiative training is being implemented in programs in Mozambique, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and Mexico. Y1 - 2018 UR - http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/635311516194319062/Personal-initiative-training-leads-to-remarkable-growth-of-women-owned-small-businesses-in-Togo PB - World Bank Group CY - Washington, D. C. ET - 22 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Crespi, Gustavo A1 - Bowen, J David A1 - Marcolin, Luca T1 - Decomposing firm-level productivity growth and assessing its determinants: evidence from the Americas JF - The Journal of Technology Transfer N2 - This paper provides novel empirical evidence on productivity growth in the manufacturing sector in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Relying on plant-level data, we first decompose productivity and productivity growth into plant-level growth and market allocation forces. While the average productivity of the survivors is higher than the overall contribution of reallocation forces, during recessions the inverse is true and reallocation gives a positive, albeit small, contribution to aggregate productivity growth. Next we analyze how policy measures can determine allocative efficiency levels and growth, and find important scope for action on education, financial regulation, and structural reforms. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-018-9678-0 VL - 43 IS - 6 SP - 1571 EP - 1606 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Frese, Michael A1 - Campos, Francisco A1 - Goldstein, Markus A1 - Johnson, Hillary A1 - McKenzie, David A1 - Mensmann, Mona T1 - Closing the Gender Gap – Personal Initiative Training and Female Business Performance JF - Academy of Management Proceedings N2 - While female entrepreneurship has important impacts on economic development, female-owned businesses obtain lower profits and lower growth rates than male- owned businesses. We conduct a randomized controlled field experiment with 1196 entrepreneurs in Lomé, Togo, to determine whether personal initiative training constitutes a way to enhance female entrepreneurs’ business success and to close this gender gap. Basing our argumentation on social role theory and the process model of entrepreneurial action, we argue that because of their social gender roles female entrepreneurs perceive that entrepreneurial action incurs higher risks and lower returns. We hypothesize that personal initiative training leads female entrepreneurs to decrease perceived risks of entrepreneurial action by increasing their entrepreneurial self-efficacy and error competence and to increase their perceived returns of entrepreneurial action by increasing entrepreneurial passion, which ultimately leads to female entrepreneurs’ business success. The results largely support our hypotheses. This study contributes to the literature on the gender gap in entrepreneurship and has important implications for entrepreneurial training interventions. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2018.10669abstract VL - 2018 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Cruz, Marcio A1 - Bussolo, Maurizio T1 - Organizing knowledge to compete: Impacts of capacity building programs on firm organization JF - Journal of International Economics N2 - A growing literature aiming at explaining differences in productivity and access to global export markets across firms has focused on the internal organization of firms. This paper contributes to this literature by evaluating the impact of a program that aims at enhancing competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in Brazil by providing coaching and consulting on management and production practices. Specifically, the paper tests whether the program induces treated firms to reorganize knowledge by adding more layers of different skills and competencies to their workforces. Using a unique firm-level data set, the number of layers of knowledge of the firms are compared before and after the program. The impact of the program is identified by relying on an instrumental variable approach, exploiting the quasi-experimental roll-out of its implementation, which was carried out at different times across Brazilian regions. The analysis finds that the program had an effect and that this effect is heterogeneous. The program is particularly effective in promoting the reorganization of small and medium firms. The results confirm another finding of the literature, namely that in re-organized firms wage inequality increases. Finally, these results are used to discuss how the change in firms' organization is positively correlated with export performance. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2017.12.001 IS - 111 SP - 1 EP - 20 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Iacovone, Leonardo A1 - Maloney, William F. A1 - McKenzie, David John T1 - Improving Management with Individual and Group-Based Consulting: Results from a Randomized Experiment in Colombia N2 - Differences in management quality are an important contributor to productivity differences across countries. A key question is then how to best improve poor management in developing countries. We test two different approaches to improving management in Colombian auto parts firms. The first uses intensive and expensive one-on-one consulting, while the second draws on agricultural extension approaches to provide consulting to small groups of firms at approximately one-third of the cost of the individual approach. Both approaches lead to improvements in management practices of a similar magnitude (8-10 percentage points), so that the new group-based approach dominates on a cost-benefit basis. Moreover, authors find some evidence that the group-based intervention led to increases in firm size over the next 1.5 years, including a statistically significant increase in employment, while the impacts on firm outcomes are smaller and statistically insignificant for the individual consulting. The results point to the potential of group-based approaches as a pathway to scaling up management improvements. Y1 - 2018 UR - http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/121371546237097316/Improving-Management-with-Individual-and-Group-Based-Consulting-Results-from-a-Randomized-Experiment-in-Colombia ER -