This paper describes the share of investment in fixed capital and working capital
financed by retained earnings using a harmonized dataset from the World Bank
Enterprise Survey. The sample includes firms across countries in Latin America
and the Caribbean. Descriptive statistics are presented for the share of purchases
of fixed assets financed with internal funds or retained earnings, the share of
working capital financed with internal funds, the ratio between internal funds used
for purchasing fixed assets and sales, and annual purchases of fixed assets (as a
proportion of annual sales). Also presented are stylized facts exploring how these
variables differ by country, firm size, firm age, registration, sector of activity, and
ownership. It is found that internal funds are extensively used to finance both
purchases of fixed assets and working capital, particularly by smaller firms
located in countries with less developed financial markets. Investment in fixed
assets represents about 7.5 percent of sales in the region and is significantly
higher among larger and registered firms.