IMF-撒哈拉以南非洲私营部门发展的瓶颈：公司层面的分析（英）

Bottlenecks to Private Sector Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Firm-Level Analysis Razan Amine, Qianqian Zhang, Shushanik Hakobyan, Ankita Goel WP/25/188 IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management. 2025 SEP © 2025 International Monetary Fund WP/25/188IMF Working Paper African Department Bottlenecks to Private Sector Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Firm-Level Analysis Prepared by Razan Amine, Qianqian Zhang, Shushanik Hakobyan, Ankita Goel1 Authorized for distribution by Delia Velculescu September 2025 IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management. ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes the major bottlenecks to private sector development in sub-Saharan Africa using novel methods based on firm-level data. Employing both perception-based and proxy-based methodologies, we identify and measure seven key obstacles to development. Our findings reveal significant divergences between firms' perceptions and objective measures of business constraints. While firms frequently cite infrastructure deficiencies as their primary concern, our proxy-based analysis identifies corruption followed by financial constraints as the most severe impediments to firm growth. Furthermore, small and medium-sized enterprises face disproportionate challenges compared to large firms, especially regarding financial access and human capital limitations. These findings underscore the need for targeted, context-specific policy interventions that address the objective constraints facing different types of firms across diverse economic environments in sub-Saharan Africa. RECOMMENDED CITATION: Amine, R., Q. Zhang, S. Hakobyan, A. Goel. “Bottlenecks to Private Sector Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Firm-Level Analysis”. IMF Working Paper, No. WP 25/188. International Monetary Fund, Washington D.C. JEL Classification Numbers: D22, D73, F11, F14, F23, L25, L26, O12, O16 Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, private sector development, firm-level data, principal component analysis Author’s E-Mail Addresses: ra612@cam.ac.uk, qzhang@imf.org, shakobyan@imf.org 1 The authors would like to thank Delia Velculescu, Jaroslaw Wieczorek, Christian Ebeke, Nombulelo Gumata, Daniel Gurara, Thomas Dowling, and attendees from the African Department presentation seminar and SACU Workshop for their valuable comments and suggestions. All errors are ours. INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND 2 WORKING PAPERS Bottlenecks to Private Sector Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Firm-Level Analysis Prepared by Razan Amine, Qianqian Zha