Evaluating Different Types of Enterprise Support Programs Using Panel Firm Data: Evidence from the Mexican Manufacturing Sector

Abstract

In Mexico, impact evaluations of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) programs are rare. Most evaluations are qualitative in nature and narrow in scope, usually measuring beneficiary satisfaction with either support services or program coverage. This paper evaluates SME support programs in Mexico using a panel of firm-level data for two groups of firms -- a treatment group that participated in SME programs and a control group that did not. The panel data have been created by linking SME program participation information to a large panel of annual industrial surveys (1994-2005) maintained by Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography. The findings suggest that program participation in certain types of business development services and research and development support programs is associated with a higher value added per worker and increases in employment and exports.