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Entrepreneurs' Gender and Financial Constraints: Evidence from International Data

Referierte Aufsätze Web of Science

Alexander Muravyev, Dorothea Schäfer, Oleksandr Talavera

In: Journal of Comparative Economics 37 (2009), 2, S. 270-286

Abstract

This paper examines whether financial institutions discriminate against entrepreneurs on the basis of gender. Using the cross-country Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), we find some evidence that, compared to male-managed counterparts, female-managed firms are less likely to obtain a bank loan. In addition, our analysis suggests that female entrepreneurs are charged higher interest rates when loan applications are approved. There is also some evidence that the gender differences in access to financing vanish with the level of financial development, which is consistent with Becker-type discrimination. The results of our analysis are robust to a number of specification checks.

Dorothea Schäfer

Research Director Financial Markets in the Communications Department

Topics: Firms, Gender



JEL-Classification: G21;J16;L26
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Financial constraints, Gender, Discrimination
DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2008.12.001   

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