The Efficiency of Entrepreneurship Indicators and Policy Implications in West Africa

Abstract

This study investigated the efficiency of entrepreneurship at macro level in anglophone and francophone West African, using selected indicators across countries. The study made use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate the performance. From the efficiency analysis on the Anglophone countries, there was an improvement in scale efficiency which implies that the countries within embraced technology and as well improved on their managerial allocative efficiency, and therefore optimizing their DMUs (countries) economies of scale.  All the DMUs were constant under pure technical efficiency change (PECH) and scale efficiency change (SECH) except in Sierra Leone. While the efficiency analysis on the Francophone countries revealed a sharp decrease on average productivity but Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso experienced increase in productivity except in Ivory Coast where the productivity and technical efficiency was regressed. However, the general inefficiency/short-fall in all the countries examined was from their technical inefficiency in terms of managerial skills deficit required to optimally increase the return on outputs from the given set of inputs. Cumulatively, the findings revealed that PECH is less than SECH across the West African countries. It was however recommended that public policies should be more focused on engendering technical efficiencies of entrepreneurship pursuit in the Region.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Efficiency, Anglophone, Francophone, West Africa

DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/9-8-02

Publication date: August 31^st 2019