Public Administration Digitalisation and Microenterprise Productivity in India
IMF Working Papers, May 1, 2026
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- Public Administration Digitalisation and Microenterprise Productivity in India
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Somnath Sharma, Kenichi Ueda
- Published: May 1, 2026
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229040952.001
Summary findings
- Public administration digitalisation, carried out state-by-state in India between 2010 and 2015, led to an improvement in micro-enterprise productivities, based on the Unincorporated Non-Agricultural Enterprises Surveys.
- Average firm-level productivities have risen in the states carrying out more digitalisation.
- Productivity dispersions have become narrower in states with more digitalisation.
- Digitalisation is categorised into six groups: tax filing and payments, construction permits, environment and labour regulations, inspections, commercial disputes, and single-window systems.
- States are ranked according to the subsets of digitalisation carried out by them.
Methodology
- Data source: Unincorporated Non-Agricultural Enterprises Surveys.
- Empirical approach: difference-in-difference estimations with propensity score matching.
- Treatment definition: states carrying out more digitalisation (as ranked by subsets implemented).
Digitalisation categories and state ranking
- Six categories used to characterise public administration digitalisation:
- tax filing and payments
- construction permits
- environment and labour regulations
- inspections
- commercial disputes
- single-window systems
- States are ranked according to which subsets of the six digitalisation categories they implemented.
Key results and interpretation
- The states that implemented more digitalisation experienced:
- increases in average firm-level productivity.
- reductions in productivity dispersion among micro-enterprises.
- Results are reported for the period 2010–2015.
Publication and document metadata
- Title: Public Administration Digitalisation and Microenterprise Productivity in India
- Authors: Somnath Sharma, Kenichi Ueda
- Publication date: May 1, 2026
- Series: Working Paper No. 2026/086
- Issue: 086
- Volume: 2026
- Pages: 36
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229040952.001
- Stock No: WPIEA2026086
- ISBN: 9798229040952
- ISSN: 1018-5941
Subjects and keywords
- Subjects: Business environment, Economic sectors, Fiscal governance, Fiscal policy, Manufacturing, Production, Productivity, Total factor productivity
- Keywords: administration digitalisation, Asia and Pacific, Business environment, business environments reforms, Fiscal governance, IMF working papers, improvement in micro-enterprise productivity, Manufacturing, microenterprise productivity, Productivity, productivity dispersion, productivity dispersion public administration digitalisation, Productivity growth, propensity score matching, Total factor productivity
Authors: Somnath Sharma and Kenichi Ueda; May 1, 2026.
Content in this bundle
- Working Paper