"As low-income countries industrialize, workers choose between informal self-employment and low-skill manufacturing. What do workers trade off, and what are the long run impacts of this occupational choice? Self-employment is thought to be volatile and risky, but to provide autonomy and flexibility. Industrial firms are criticized for poor wages and working conditions, but they could offer steady hours among other advantages. We worked with five Ethiopian industrial firms to randomize entry-level applicants to one of three treatment arms: an industrial job offer; a control group; or an "entrepreneurship" program of $300 plus business training. We followed the sample over a year. Industrial jobs offered more hours than the control group's informal opportunities, but had little impact on incomes due to lower wages. Most applicants quit the sector quickly, finding industrial jobs unpleasant and risky. Indeed, serious health problems rose one percentage point for every month of industrial work. Applicants seem to understand the risks, but took the industrial work temporarily while searching for better work. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurship program stimulated self-employment, raised earnings by 33%, provided steady work hours, and halved the likelihood of taking an industrial job in future. Overall, when the barriers to self-employment were relieved, applicants appear to have preferred entrepreneurial to industrial labor."

"Entrepreneurship is becoming an important source of economic activity and each time more sophisticated institutional arrangements (ecosystems) are populating more developed markets, as chances to grow fast and big in specific niches of those markets attract all necessary stakeholders for these ecosystems to work (entrepreneurs, investors, universities tech transfer offices, business accelerators, corporate and public procurers, etc.). In front of this, in less developed markets, some innovation agencies have been piloting opportunity driven startup programs, trying to cope with some of the barriers that these markets face so as to identify, select and give to potentially highly productive startups a real chance to succeed. This paper presents the results of an impact evaluation of one of those programs: Startup Peru."

"This report covers the Indian economy and its infrastructure challenges. Its challenge is different to that of most other G20 countries. Instead of an infrastructure transition, India's journey is one of infrastructure creation. It has the option to skip the growth trajectory adopted by many other countries and move straight to an economy fit for the 21st century.

India is forecast to grow at seven to eight percent in 2018-19, the fastest rate of growth amongst the G20 countries. India is still amongst the lowest quartile of nations in terms of per-capita income. People's quality of life is held back by, amongst others, the country's inadequate infrastructure."

"This study presents a new approach to the estimation of the unmet demand for financing from MSMEs in developing countries. Importantly, it also describes the potential implications for the public-sector bodies, private sector financial institutions, and technology providers. The present research adds significant value to the repository of data in the MSME space, and opens new opportunities for further investigation. It estimates both supply of and demand for MSME finance on a global scale, which has never been done in a comprehensive way. This approach estimates MSME equilibrium lending in developed economies according to the industry, age, and size categories, and applies this benchmark to MSMEs in developing countries. It estimates the MSME finance gap as the difference between current supply and potential demand which can potentially be addressed by financial institutions."

"This report investigates the role of SGBs in economic growth and the key success factors of business networks for SGBs. It also spotlights the impact of two organizations - Enablis Senegal and CEED Moldova - on SGB growth. Finally, the report outlines implications for funders, ecosystem builders, SGB-support organizations and SGBs."

"This new report, Measuring Impact, aligns with existing best practices, and includes seven practical guidelines for good impact measurement, as well as five case studies of impact investment organisations that have successfully put these guidelines to use. In writing the report, the Working Group went through a six-month consultative and research process, which included a review of over 60 industry publications and 45 interviews with experts and practitioners in impact measurement."

"This report highlights opportunities for inclusive business across five sectors: financial services, food and beverages, healthcare, infrastructure and skills building and education. It also shares insights gained from a survey, interviews and workshops on how inclusive business can be scaled to accelerate achievement of the SDGs by 2030.

This publication is the first in a series of three produced by BCtA to highlight the efforts of its members and other inclusive businesses in Kenya, the Philippines and Colombia, focusing on both the opportunities and challenges of inclusive business. It aims to encourage companies' engagement in inclusive business and contribution to the SDGs by offering examples of successful and emerging approaches, and indicating how governments and other stakeholders can support their establishment and scaling up."

"The aim of this study was to deepen the understanding of the specific practices and methodologies that established impact investors are using to measure the social impact generated by their investments, and to analyze the conditions under which each measurement method is most relevant. The intended audience for our analysis is impact investors themselves, as well as social sector organizations, traditional funders, and evaluators."

"Anecdotal evidence of successfully accelerated ventures has been followed by more rigorous studies by GALI and some emerging academic research. But as the evidence behind accelerator effectiveness expands, the question remains-at what cost? This methods brief first frames the various ways accelerators can think about value for money of their programs. Then, it explores one practical approach to calculating value for money. Finally, the brief summarizes similar evaluations conducted for other types of entrepreneur support programs. Accelerators and funders can use this guide to understand their options for assessing value for money and to consider how they could incorporate this concept into their data collection and program assessments."

"Key research objectives of this report were to evaluate the quantifiable value created by impact-focused incubator/accelerator programs and to design and pilot a framework that can be used to objectively compare and benchmark impact incubator/accelerator programs against each other. This analysis builds on ANDE's previous findings and was conceived as a means to evaluate how and where incubators/accelerators are creating tangible value. One of the initial goals of the study was to help programs develop quantifiable evidence they need to make a stronger case for charging incubees and investors for their services and the value they create."