Out of the shadows? Are firms more likely to formalize through tax simplification programs?
Red tape can be a significant barrier to having informal firms formalize and eventually benefit from any business support programs provided by governmental agencies. While the relationship between this formalization, access to finance and a firm’s performance has been implied by anecdotal evidence (de Soto 1989 and 2000), a recent survey of empirical evidence suggests that such programs may in fact achieve the opposite and not necessarily nudge firms to formalize. In fact, the evidence suggests that even with a significant reduction in red tape most informal firms decide to remain informal (see Bruhn and McKenzie 2013 for a survey).
