ABSTRACT

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be one of the reliable drivers of economic well-being of any economy. However, in the context of the poorest countries in the world- those of Sub-Saharan Economies, formal SMEs contribute less than 20% to the macroeconomic bottom line (the number is around 60% for high-income countries). Part of the reason is the presence of a large informal sector of SMEs, where the Cost of Business Start-Up Procedures (CBSP) serves as one of the barriers to legitimization of SMEs. In this investigation, we use the framework of Networked Readiness Index (NRI) to investigate whether (1) ICT Capabilities impact CBSP, and (2) the value of CBSP is associated with the socio-economic impact of ICT Capabilities. We use a five-step methodology utilizing Cluster Analysis, Decision Trees Induction, Data Envelopment Analysis, Association Rules Mining, and Ordinary Least Squares regression to conduct the inquiry in the context of 26 SSA economies. The results of the data analysis indicate that (1) certain ICT Capabilities are associated with the low levels of CBSP, and (2) low levels of CBSP are associated with the presence of socio-economic impact.

摘要

中小企业（SME）被认为是任何经济体经济福祉的可靠驱动因素之一。但是，在世界上最贫穷的国家（撒哈拉以南国家）的情况下，正规的中小企业对宏观经济底线的贡献不足20％（高收入国家的数字约为60％）。部分原因是存在大量的中小企业的非正式部门，其中的业务启动程序成本（CBSP）成为中小企业合法化的障碍之一。在这项调查中，我们使用网络就绪指数（NRI）的框架来调查（1）ICT能力是否影响CBSP，以及（2）CBSP的价值是否与ICT能力的社会经济影响相关。我们使用五步方法，利用聚类分析，决策树归纳，数据包络分析，关联规则挖掘和普通最小二乘回归可以在26个SSA经济体的背景下进行查询。数据分析的结果表明，（1）某些ICT能力与CBSP的低水平相关，（2）CBSP的低水平与社会经济影响相关。