Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/180547 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11529
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We analyze how intermittent large expenditures on family ceremonies may affect an entrepreneur's investment decision in an informal enterprise. Our hypothesis is that the barrier between family and enterprise is thin and permeable. We test this hypothesis using a survey from Sénégal that combines informal sector and household data. We estimate a measure of exposure to spending on births, weddings and funerals, and show this has a significant negative relationship with the decision to invest and the amount of investment. These results are robust to changes in specifications of the determinants of investment, controlling for both enterprise- and family-related variables.
Subjects: 
informality
investment behaviour
family ceremonies
JEL: 
O17
D13
O12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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