Asif Mohammed Islam
Biographic Data
| ID | 5885494 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Asif Mohammed Islam |
| GIVEN NAMES | Asif Mohammed |
| FAMILY NAME | Islam |
| SIGNATURE | ISLAM A M |
| AFFILIATIONS | World Bank |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5946-805X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 12 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
What contributes to SME vs. large firm resilience to economic crisis in developing countries? A decomposition analysis based on the Covid-19 shock
Perceptions, Contagion, and Civil Unrest
This paper investigates the impact of citizens' perceptions of economic and political conditions on nonviolent uprisings. For a global sample of high‐income (Europe) and developing economies (Sub‐Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa), on average, negative perceptions of political conditions have a significant positive effect on the number of anti‐government protests and general str…
Data transparency and growth in developing economies during and after the global financial crisis
The study explores the effects of data transparency on economic growth for developing economies over a unique time period ‐ at the onset of the 2007–2009 global financial crisis and thereafter. Data transparency is defined as the timely production of credible statistics as measured by the statistical capacity indicator. The paper finds that data transparency has a positive effect on real gross domestic product per capita during a period of consid…
Export intensity and its effect on women's employment
Using firm‐level survey data for 29,962 manufacturing firms in 141 developing and emerging countries, the impact of exports (as a percentage of sales) on the share of female workers at the firm is estimated. The impact is positive, large, and statistically significant. For the baseline specification, moving from a firm that does not export to one that does all its sales abroad is associated with a 6.6 percentage point increase in the share of fem…
The human capital of firms and the formal training of workers
The benefits of formal training are numerous, and yet in many regions few firms utilize them. In this study, we build on the literature by exploring how two forms of human capital–the quality of management practices and the proportion of university educated employees - influence the adoption of formal training. Using both cross-sectional and panel firm-level data for 29 economies in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and 6 Middle East and Nort…
The gender labor productivity gap across informal firms
Labor productivity gap between women- and men-owned informal businesses in 42 cities across 14 developing countries analyzed. • Women-owned firms’ labor productivity is lower by 15.6 percent than men-owned firms in the full sample. • Mean and quantile decomposition estimate individual factors’ “endowment” and “structural” effect on the productivity gap. • Education, experience, capitalization, contracts, and security expenses contribute significa…
Why Are Firms in High-income Economies More Productive than in Middle-income Economies? Decomposing the Firm Labor Productivity Gap
Does mobile money enable women-owned businesses to invest? Firm-level evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
Firms’ Behavior Under Discriminatory Laws and Women’s Employment in the Democratic Republic of Congo
This article contributes to better understanding firms’ behavior in the presence of gender discriminatory laws and its linkages with labor market outcomes for women in a developing country setting. Using data collected through the World Bank Enterprise Surveys in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the study documents the existence of nonnegligible employer discrimination in the presence of discriminatory laws. Interestingly, discriminatory behavio…
Can government spending boost firm sales
We estimate the effect of government spending on firm production as measured by the value of sales in developing economies. We contribute to the literature by exploring the relationship between the size and composition of government spending on firm sales by workforce size and market destination of goods using instruments based on political institutions and fractionalization. We use a unique firm‐level dataset across developing economies coupled …
Data Transparency and Long-Run Growth
For centuries states have engaged in collecting data to \nserve various interests. In modern times, a data gap has \nemerged between developing and developed economies, \nwith the latter having more advanced data systems. The \nauthors explore the effects of data transparency on longrun \ngrowth for a sample of mostly developing economies. \nData transparency is defined as the timely production of \ncredible statistics as measured by the Statisti…
The Labor Productivity Gap between Formal Businesses Run by Women and Men
This study analyzes gender differences in labor productivity in the formal private sector, using data from 126 mostly developing economies. The results reveal a sizable unconditional gap, with labor productivity being approximately 11 percent lower among women- than men-managed firms. The analyses are based on women’s management, which is more strongly associated with labor productivity than women’s participation in ownership, which has been the …
Decomposing the Labour Productivity Gap between Migrant-Owned and Native-Owned Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa
Migration studies have been primarily based on the movement of individuals from developing to developed economies, with a focus on the impact of migrants on host country wages. In this study we take a different angle by exploring the labour productivity of migrant-owned firms versus native-owned firms in 20 African economies using firm-level data. We find that labour productivity is 78 per cent higher in migrant-owned firms than native-owned firm…
Unequal Laws and the Disempowerment of Women in the Labour Market: Evidence from Firm-Level Data
Institutions are defined as the set of rules that govern human interactions. When these rules are discriminatory, they may disempower segments of a population in the economic spheres of activity. In this study, we explore whether laws that discriminate against women influence their engagement in the economy. We adopt a holistic approach where we explore an overall measure of unequal laws also known as legal gender disparities and relate it to sev…
The drivers and impacts of water infrastructure reliability – a global analysis of manufacturing firms
Does mobile money use increase firms’ investment? Evidence from Enterprise Surveys in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania
Unequal before the law: Measuring legal gender disparities across the world
Women Managers and The Gender-Based Gap in Access to Education: Evidence from Firm-Level Data in Developing Countries
A number of studies explore the differences in men's and women's labor market participation rates and wages. Some of these differences have been linked to gender disparities in education access and attainment. The present paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the relationship between the proclivity of a firm having a top woman manager and access to education among women relative to men in the country. The study combines the literature…
Does Mandating Nondiscrimination in Hiring Practices Influence Women's Employment? Evidence Using Firm-Level Data
This study explores the relationship between mandating a nondiscrimination clause in hiring practices along gender lines and the employment of women versus men in fifty-eight developing countries. Using data from the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys (2006–10 World Bank. 2006–10. “Enterprise Surveys.” www.enterprisesurveys.org. [Google Scholar]), the study finds a strong positive relationship between the nondiscrimination clause and women's relativ…
Are Large Informal Firms More Productive than the Small Informal Firms? Evidence from Firm-Level Surveys in Africa
Entrepreneurship and the Allocation of Government Spending Under Imperfect Markets
Economic growth and crime against small and medium sized enterprises in developing economies
Is there a gender bias in crime against firms for developing economies
The Labor Productivity Gap between Formal Businesses Run by Women and Men
This study analyzes gender differences in labor productivity in the formal private sector, using data from 126 mostly developing economies. The results reveal a sizable unconditional gap, with labor productivity being approximately 11 percent lower among women- than men-managed firms. The analyses are based on women’s management, which is more strongly associated with labor productivity than women’s participation in ownership, which has been the …
Are Large Informal Firms More Productive than the Small Informal Firms? Evidence from Firm-Level Surveys in Africa
The gender labor productivity gap across informal firms
Labor productivity gap between women- and men-owned informal businesses in 42 cities across 14 developing countries analyzed. • Women-owned firms’ labor productivity is lower by 15.6 percent than men-owned firms in the full sample. • Mean and quantile decomposition estimate individual factors’ “endowment” and “structural” effect on the productivity gap. • Education, experience, capitalization, contracts, and security expenses contribute significa…
Unequal before the law: Measuring legal gender disparities across the world
Entrepreneurship and the Allocation of Government Spending Under Imperfect Markets
Is there a gender bias in crime against firms for developing economies
Economic growth and crime against small and medium sized enterprises in developing economies
Women Managers and The Gender-Based Gap in Access to Education: Evidence from Firm-Level Data in Developing Countries
A number of studies explore the differences in men's and women's labor market participation rates and wages. Some of these differences have been linked to gender disparities in education access and attainment. The present paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the relationship between the proclivity of a firm having a top woman manager and access to education among women relative to men in the country. The study combines the literature…
Does Mandating Nondiscrimination in Hiring Practices Influence Women's Employment? Evidence Using Firm-Level Data
This study explores the relationship between mandating a nondiscrimination clause in hiring practices along gender lines and the employment of women versus men in fifty-eight developing countries. Using data from the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys (2006–10 World Bank. 2006–10. “Enterprise Surveys.” www.enterprisesurveys.org. [Google Scholar]), the study finds a strong positive relationship between the nondiscrimination clause and women's relativ…
Are Large Informal Firms More Productive than the Small Informal Firms? Evidence from Firm-Level Surveys in Africa
Entrepreneurship and the Allocation of Government Spending Under Imperfect Markets
Does mobile money use increase firms’ investment? Evidence from Enterprise Surveys in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania
Unequal before the law: Measuring legal gender disparities across the world
Decomposing the Labour Productivity Gap between Migrant-Owned and Native-Owned Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa
Migration studies have been primarily based on the movement of individuals from developing to developed economies, with a focus on the impact of migrants on host country wages. In this study we take a different angle by exploring the labour productivity of migrant-owned firms versus native-owned firms in 20 African economies using firm-level data. We find that labour productivity is 78 per cent higher in migrant-owned firms than native-owned firm…
Unequal Laws and the Disempowerment of Women in the Labour Market: Evidence from Firm-Level Data
Institutions are defined as the set of rules that govern human interactions. When these rules are discriminatory, they may disempower segments of a population in the economic spheres of activity. In this study, we explore whether laws that discriminate against women influence their engagement in the economy. We adopt a holistic approach where we explore an overall measure of unequal laws also known as legal gender disparities and relate it to sev…
The drivers and impacts of water infrastructure reliability – a global analysis of manufacturing firms
Data Transparency and Long-Run Growth
For centuries states have engaged in collecting data to \nserve various interests. In modern times, a data gap has \nemerged between developing and developed economies, \nwith the latter having more advanced data systems. The \nauthors explore the effects of data transparency on longrun \ngrowth for a sample of mostly developing economies. \nData transparency is defined as the timely production of \ncredible statistics as measured by the Statisti…
The Labor Productivity Gap between Formal Businesses Run by Women and Men
This study analyzes gender differences in labor productivity in the formal private sector, using data from 126 mostly developing economies. The results reveal a sizable unconditional gap, with labor productivity being approximately 11 percent lower among women- than men-managed firms. The analyses are based on women’s management, which is more strongly associated with labor productivity than women’s participation in ownership, which has been the …
Can government spending boost firm sales
We estimate the effect of government spending on firm production as measured by the value of sales in developing economies. We contribute to the literature by exploring the relationship between the size and composition of government spending on firm sales by workforce size and market destination of goods using instruments based on political institutions and fractionalization. We use a unique firm‐level dataset across developing economies coupled …
Does mobile money enable women-owned businesses to invest? Firm-level evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
Firms’ Behavior Under Discriminatory Laws and Women’s Employment in the Democratic Republic of Congo
This article contributes to better understanding firms’ behavior in the presence of gender discriminatory laws and its linkages with labor market outcomes for women in a developing country setting. Using data collected through the World Bank Enterprise Surveys in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the study documents the existence of nonnegligible employer discrimination in the presence of discriminatory laws. Interestingly, discriminatory behavio…
Export intensity and its effect on women's employment
Using firm‐level survey data for 29,962 manufacturing firms in 141 developing and emerging countries, the impact of exports (as a percentage of sales) on the share of female workers at the firm is estimated. The impact is positive, large, and statistically significant. For the baseline specification, moving from a firm that does not export to one that does all its sales abroad is associated with a 6.6 percentage point increase in the share of fem…
The human capital of firms and the formal training of workers
The benefits of formal training are numerous, and yet in many regions few firms utilize them. In this study, we build on the literature by exploring how two forms of human capital–the quality of management practices and the proportion of university educated employees - influence the adoption of formal training. Using both cross-sectional and panel firm-level data for 29 economies in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and 6 Middle East and Nort…
The gender labor productivity gap across informal firms
Labor productivity gap between women- and men-owned informal businesses in 42 cities across 14 developing countries analyzed. • Women-owned firms’ labor productivity is lower by 15.6 percent than men-owned firms in the full sample. • Mean and quantile decomposition estimate individual factors’ “endowment” and “structural” effect on the productivity gap. • Education, experience, capitalization, contracts, and security expenses contribute significa…
Why Are Firms in High-income Economies More Productive than in Middle-income Economies? Decomposing the Firm Labor Productivity Gap
Data transparency and growth in developing economies during and after the global financial crisis
The study explores the effects of data transparency on economic growth for developing economies over a unique time period ‐ at the onset of the 2007–2009 global financial crisis and thereafter. Data transparency is defined as the timely production of credible statistics as measured by the statistical capacity indicator. The paper finds that data transparency has a positive effect on real gross domestic product per capita during a period of consid…
What contributes to SME vs. large firm resilience to economic crisis in developing countries? A decomposition analysis based on the Covid-19 shock
Perceptions, Contagion, and Civil Unrest
This paper investigates the impact of citizens' perceptions of economic and political conditions on nonviolent uprisings. For a global sample of high‐income (Europe) and developing economies (Sub‐Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa), on average, negative perceptions of political conditions have a significant positive effect on the number of anti‐government protests and general str…
Economics (22 works) · Business (16 works) · Demographic economics (13 works) · Economic growth (13 works) · Labour economics (11 works) · Taxation and Compliance Studies (7 works) · Developing country (6 works) · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics (6 works) · Monetary economics (6 works) · Political science (6 works)