2017/11/27 by Miriam Bruhn, Dean Karlan, Antoinette Schoar · 346 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Business #Control (management) #Corporate Finance and Governance #Economic growth #Economics #Entrepreneurship #Finance #Financial plan #Index (typography) #Labour economics #Management #Marketing #Microfinance and Financial Inclusion #Productivity #Small business #Taxation and Compliance Studies #Wage
paper · doi:10.1086/696154
published in Journal of Political Economy 126(2), 635-687 (University of Chicago Press)
openalex publication_date 2017/11/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
A randomized control trial with 432 small and medium enterprises in Mexico shows positive impact of access to 1 year of management consulting services on total factor productivity and return on assets. Owners also had an increase in “entrepreneurial spirit” (an index that measures entrepreneurial confidence and goal setting). Using Mexican social security data, we find a persistent large increase (about 50 percent) in the number of employees and total wage bill even 5 years after the program. We document large heterogeneity in the specific managerial practices that improved as a result of the consulting, with the most prominent being marketing, financial accounting, and long-term business planning.