Female-Owned Firms in Latin America : Characteristics, Performance, and Obstacles to Growth
This paper examines the characteristics and performance of female-owned firms in Latin America. Data from firm surveys show that female-owned firms tend to be smaller than male-owned firms in terms of employees, sales, costs, and physical capital. Female-owned firms also have lower profits than male-owned firms, but for larger firms this difference disappears after controlling for labor and capital inputs. Medium-size and large female-owned firms are as productive as male-owned firms of the same size, although micro and small female-owned firms are less productive than male-owned firms. There is no evidence that the differences between female and male-owned firms are due to differences in access to finance or regulatory burdens. However, this paper finds a negative correlation between child care and household obligations and female-owned firm size and performance.
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2009-11
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| Subjects: | entrepreneurship, farm ownership, firm ownership, female-owned, child care responsibilities, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2009/11/11525121/female-owned-firms-latin-america-characteristics-performance-obstacles-growth https://hdl.handle.net/10986/19961 |
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| Summary: | This paper examines the characteristics
and performance of female-owned firms in Latin America. Data
from firm surveys show that female-owned firms tend to be
smaller than male-owned firms in terms of employees, sales,
costs, and physical capital. Female-owned firms also have
lower profits than male-owned firms, but for larger firms
this difference disappears after controlling for labor and
capital inputs. Medium-size and large female-owned firms are
as productive as male-owned firms of the same size, although
micro and small female-owned firms are less productive than
male-owned firms. There is no evidence that the differences
between female and male-owned firms are due to differences
in access to finance or regulatory burdens. However, this
paper finds a negative correlation between child care and
household obligations and female-owned firm size and performance. |
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