ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the West-African informal entrepreneurs, having a self-employed father does not provide any advantage in terms of value added or sales, as far as the business activity is different from that of the father. It sheds light on the heterogeneity of the informal sector, by testing whether entrepreneurial familial background may be a source of success for informal businesses. In contrast to the USA or European countries, there is no intergenerational transmission of general managerial skills, which would explain such a competitive advantage for children of self-employed. The informal entrepreneurs who have a father involved in self-employed activities do not benefit from an advantage, compared to informal entrepreneurs without a self-employed father. The chapter casts a new light on the heterogeneity of the informal sector, by identifying social background, in particular entrepreneurial familial background, as a source of heterogeneity in terms of performance.
