Gender and the Business Environment for New Firm Creation

doi:10.1093/wbro/lkp032

Publication:
Gender and the Business Environment for New Firm Creation

dc.contributor.author	Klapper, Leora F.
dc.contributor.author	Parker, Simon C.
dc.date.accessioned	2013-05-21T21:50:57Z
dc.date.available	2013-05-21T21:50:57Z
dc.date.issued	2011-08-01
dc.description.abstract	The authors summarize the extant literature on the relationship between gender and entrepreneurship. They note significant quantitative gender differences in business entry, with male-owned firms heavily prevailing over firms owned by women in many parts of the world. They find that enterprises owned by men on the one hand and women on the other are generally concentrated in different sectors, women entrepreneurs being better represented in labor intensive sectors such as trade and services rather than capital intensive manufacturing industries. They also observe certain gender differentials in business survival and growth patterns. Yet an analysis of a large body of literature does not suggest that, in general, the so called “gender gap” in entrepreneurship can be explained by explicit discrimination in laws or regulations. Rather, differences in quantitative and qualitative indicators of business entry and performance can in part be explained by a number of business environment factors that disproportionately affect a woman's decision to operate a business in the formal sector. For example the concentration of women in low capital intensive industries—which require less funding and at the same time have a lower potential for growth and development—might also be driven by barriers against women regarding access to finance. Furthermore, women may have relatively less physical and “reputational” collateral than men, which limits their access to finance. Overall the literature suggests that improvements in the business environment can help promote high-growth female entrepreneurship.	en
dc.identifier.citation	World Bank Research Observer
dc.identifier.doi	10.1596/13514
dc.identifier.issn	1564-6971
dc.identifier.other	doi:10.1093/wbro/lkp032
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10986/13515
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseries	World Bank Research Observer
dc.rights	CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder	World Bank
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/
dc.subject	access to credit
dc.subject	access to finance
dc.subject	business entry
dc.subject	business survival
dc.subject	collateral
dc.subject	discrimination
dc.subject	economic activity
dc.subject	female entrepreneurs
dc.subject	female entrepreneurship
dc.subject	Gender
dc.subject	gender differences
dc.subject	gender discrimination
dc.subject	gender gap
dc.subject	International Bank
dc.subject	microfinance
dc.subject	profitability
dc.subject	property rights
dc.subject	shadow economy
dc.subject	woman
dc.subject	women entrepreneurs
dc.title	Gender and the Business Environment for New Firm Creation	en
dc.type	Journal Article	en
dc.type	Article de journal	fr
dc.type	Artículo de revista	es
dspace.entity.type	Publication
okr.crosscuttingsolutionarea	Gender
okr.date.disclosure	2013-02-01
okr.date.doiregistration	2025-05-06T10:55:06.206864Z
okr.doctype	Journal Article
okr.globalpractice	Finance and Markets
okr.identifier.doi	10.1093/wbro/lkp032
okr.journal.nbpages	237-257
okr.language.supported	en
okr.peerreview	Academic Peer Review
okr.topic	Finance and Financial Sector Development::Access to Finance
okr.topic	Gender
okr.volume	26(2)
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relation.isJournalIssueOfPublication.latestForDiscovery	d4528ba7-31c8-4f47-8936-941115ec8a42
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relation.isJournalVolumeOfPublication	61faf3f2-961c-4f35-99db-1c8ec8c2ccfb