Building on imprinting theory, we formalize the construct ‘liability of informality’, arguing that firms that start operating in the informal sector but later move to the formal sector are less likely to participate directly, and more likely to participate indirectly, in global value chains (GVCs) than those that start out as registered businesses. We further argue that the amount of time spent in the informal sector emphasizes these effects. Using World Bank Enterprise Survey data from 112 developing and emerging economies, we show that informality leaves a strong blueprint on firms, which tends to persist over time.

中文翻译：

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非正规性和企业参与全球价值链的责任

基于印记理论，我们将“非正规性责任”的结构形式化，认为开始在非正规部门运营但后来转移到正规部门的公司不太可能直接参与，而更有可能间接参与全球价值链(GVC) 而不是那些以注册企业起步的企业。我们进一步认为，在非正规部门花费的时间强调了这些影响。使用来自 112 个发展中和新兴经济体的世界银行企业调查数据，我们表明非正规性为企业留下了强大的蓝图，并且随着时间的推移往往会持续存在。