Are Women More Credit Constrained? Experimental Evidence on Gender and Microenterprise Returns
We report on a field experiment providing random grants to microenterprise owners. The grants generated large profit increases for male owners but not for female owners. We show that the gender gap does not simply mask differences in ability, risk aversion, entrepreneurial attitudes, or differences in reporting behavior, but there is some evidence that the gender gap is larger in female-dominated industries. The data are not consistent with a unitary household model, and imply an inefficiency of resource allocation within households. We show evidence that this inefficiency is reduced in more cooperative households.
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article biblioteca |
| Language: | EN |
| Published: |
2009
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| Subjects: | Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation D130, Personal Finance D140, Economics of Gender, Non-labor Discrimination J160, Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope L250, Entrepreneurship L260, Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development O120, Economic Development: Financial Markets, Saving and Capital Investment, Corporate Finance and Governance O160, Microdata Set, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5592 |
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| Summary: | We report on a field experiment providing random grants to microenterprise owners. The grants generated large profit increases for male owners but not for female owners. We show that the gender gap does not simply mask differences in ability, risk aversion, entrepreneurial attitudes, or differences in reporting behavior, but there is some evidence that the gender gap is larger in female-dominated industries. The data are not consistent with a unitary household model, and imply an inefficiency of resource allocation within households. We show evidence that this inefficiency is reduced in more cooperative households. |
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