Do capital grants improve microenterprise productivity?
利用生产函数重新分析两项随机对照试验，发现资本赠款使微型企业生产率提高约20%-30%，且效果持续六年，主要机制是企业采用更高技术的耐用设备。
Abstract Do capital grants improve microenterprise productivity? We use the lens of a production function to re-examine two previous randomised controlled trials that allocated capital to microenterprises. We find that productivity is higher for treated firms, and accounts for about 20%–30% of the revenue effects of capital grants. Although long-run estimates are noisy, point estimates indicate that these productivity effects are sustained six years after the grants. We explore possible mechanisms for this finding, and show that treatment tilts the asset composition towards durables with a higher-technology component: a result consistent with an important role for capital-embodied technology. Mediation analysis confirms that virtually all of the effect of treatment on productivity can be explained by the adoption of higher-technology durables.