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on Gender |
| By: | Catia Batista; Sandra Sequeira; Pedro C. Vicente |
| Abstract: | We examine the complementarity between access to mobile savings accounts and improved financial management skills on the performance of female-led micro-enterprises in Mozambique. This combined support is associated with a large increase in both short and long-term firm profits and in financial security, when compared to the independent effect of each of these interventions. This support allowed female-headed micro-enterprises to close the gender gap in performance and financial literacy relative to their male counterparts. The main drivers of improved business performance are increased financial management practices (bookkeeping), an increase in accessible savings and reduced transfers to friends and relatives. |
| Keywords: | Microenterprise development, management, gender, mobile money, financial literacy, economic development |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unl:novafr:wp2104&r= |
| By: | Derndorfer, Judith; Disslbacher, Franziska; Lechinger, Vanessa; Mär, Katharina; Six, Eva |
| Abstract: | A lockdown implies a shift from the public to the private sphere, and from market to non-market production, thereby increasing the volume of unpaid work. Already before the pandemic, unpaid work was disproportionately borne by women. This paper studies the effect of working from home for pay (WFH), due to a lockdown, on the change in the division of housework and childcare within couple households. While previous studies on the effect of WFH on the reconciliation of work and family life and the division of labour within the household suffered from selection bias, we are able to identify this effect by drawing upon the shock of the first COVID-19 lockdown in Austria. The corresponding legal measures left little choice over WFH. In any case, WFH is exogenous, conditional on a small set of individual and household characteristics we control for. We employ data from a survey on the gendered aspects of the lockdown. The dataset includes detailed information on time use during the lockdown and on the quality and experience of WFH. Uniquely, this survey data also includes information on the division, and not only magnitude, of unpaid work within households. Austria is an interesting case in this respect as it is characterized by very conservative gender norms. The results reveal that the probability of men taking on a larger share of housework increases if men are WFH alone or together with their female partner. By contrast, the involvement of men in childcare increased only in the event that the female partner was not able to WFH. Overall, the burden of childcare, and particularly homeschooling, was disproportionately borne by women. |
| Date: | 2021–04–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:5ypb2&r= |
| By: | Sophie Calder-Wang; Paul A. Gompers; Kevin Huang |
| Abstract: | We study the role of diversity and performance in the entrepreneurial teams. We exploit a unique dataset of MBA students who participated in a required course to propose and start a real micro-business that allows us to examine horizontal diversity (i.e., within the team) as well as vertical diversity (i.e., team to faculty advisor) and their effect on performance. The design of the course allows for identification of the causal implications of horizontal and vertical diversity. The course was run in multiple cohorts in otherwise identical formats except for the team formation mechanism used. In several cohorts, students were allowed to choose their teams from among students in their section (roughly 90 students). In other cohorts, students were randomly assigned to teams based upon a computer algorithm. In the cohorts that were allowed to choose, we find strong selection based upon shared attributes. Among the randomly-assigned teams, greater diversity along the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity significantly reduced performance. However, the negative effect of this diversity is alleviated in cohorts in which teams are endogenously formed. Finally, we find that teams with more female members perform substantially better when their faculty section leader was also female. Because the gender of the faculty section leader is exogenous to the gender make-up of the entrepreneurial team, the positive performance effects can be interpreted as causal. These findings suggest that diversity policies should take adequate consideration of the multiple dimensions of diversity. |
| JEL: | J1 J15 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28684&r= |
| By: | Sarah Flèche; Anthony Lepinteur; Nattavudh Powdthavee |
| Abstract: | Can capital constraints explain why there are more male than female entrepreneurs in most societies? We study this issue by exploiting longitudinal data on lottery winners. Comparing between large to small winners, we find that an increase in lottery win in period t-1 significantly increases the likelihood of becoming self-employed in period t. This windfall effect is statistically the same in magnitude for men and women; a one percent increase in exogenous income increases the probability of female self-employment by 0.6 percentage points, which is approximately 10% of the gender entrepreneurial gap. These results suggest that we can causally reduce the gender entrepreneurial gap by improving women's access to capital that might not be as readily available to the aspiring female entrepreneurs as it is to male entrepreneurs. |
| Keywords: | gender inequality, self-employment, lottery wins, BHPS |
| JEL: | J16 J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2021–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1762&r= |
| By: | Brian G. Knight; Maria Mercedes Ponce de Leon; Ana Tribin |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the link between gender and crime using information from a gender-based lockdown policy in Bogota Colombia during the pandemic. Under the policy, men were allowed out on odd days and women on even days, and we investigate whether overall crime rates differed and whether crime was lower on women-only days. We compare crime in Bogota to other cities and, within Bogota, the gender-based lockdown period to weeks with other lockdown policies. Our key findings are that crime rates are higher during the gender-based lockdown policy and that this is driven by more crime involving male victims and on men-only days. There is no evidence that higher crime on men-only days is offset by less crime on women-only days. The higher crimes on men-only days is driven by robbery, stolen cars and motorcycles, and homicides. We find higher sexual crimes on women-only days and an increase in domestic violence on both types of days. Taken together, our results suggest that gender segregation, if anything, tends to increase crime. |
| JEL: | J1 K4 O1 |
| Date: | 2021–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28686&r= |
| By: | Myck, Michal (Centre for Economic Analysis, CenEA); Oczkowska, Monika (Centre for Economic Analysis, CenEA); Wowczko, Izabela (Centre for Economic Analysis, CenEA) |
| Abstract: | The decisions of parents following the birth of their first child concerning subsequent fertility, and the stability of their relationship can be used as a reflection of broader gender preferences. We study these decisions to identify gender preferences in six Central and Eastern European countries, which vary with respect to their current political and economic conditions, but share a common experience of past communist rule. Using subsamples of census data collected in the IPUMS-International inventory around 2000 and 2010, we examine the effect of the gender of the first-born child(ren) on the fertility and relationship stability of their parents. Only in the case of Romania do our results consistently point towards boy preferences, while in Russia boy preferences can be detected in families with two or more children. Importantly, in four out of six countries (Belarus, Poland, Russia and Ukraine) parents are more likely to have a second child if the first-born was a boy, indicating girl preferences. These preferences could be interpreted as a reflection of concern regarding future care support for parents. |
| Keywords: | gender preferences, fertility, family structure, transition countries |
| JEL: | J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14244&r=all |
| By: | Sophie Calder-Wang; Paul Gompers; Patrick Sweeney |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we document the historically low rate of hiring of women in the venture capital sector. We find that the high-profile Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkins gender discrimination trial had dramatic treatment effects. In difference-in-differences regressions, we find that the rate of hiring of female venture capitalists increased substantially after the trial and that the hiring was more pronounced in states that were more receptive to the exposure. We use the state-level mandated maternity benefits as an instrument for the receptivity to the treatment effects of the Pao Trial. We also show that the fraction of founders who are female increases after the Pao Trial, but that the increase is driven entirely by the hiring of female venture capitalists. There is no increase in the propensity of male venture capitalists to invest in female founders in the post-Pao Trial period. |
| JEL: | G3 J01 J16 J7 K31 |
| Date: | 2021–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28679&r=all |
| By: | Milovanska-Farrington, Stefani (University of Tampa); Farrington, Stephen (University of Tampa) |
| Abstract: | Happiness is strongly associated with goal attainment, productivity, mental health and suicidal risk. This paper examines the effect of satisfaction with areas of life on subjective well-being (SWB), the importance of relative perceptions compared to absolute measures in predicting overall life satisfaction, and differences in the domains of life which have the greatest impact on happiness of men and women. The findings suggest that relative perceptions have a large statistically significant effect on SWB. Satisfaction with family life and health have the largest while satisfaction with income has the lowest impact on overall SWB for both genders. Work satisfaction is more important for men than for women, whereas partner's happiness is more valued by female respondents. Satisfaction with household compared to personal income has a larger effect on SWB in all subsamples except employed women. Understanding the perceived and factual determinants of happiness has urgent implications in the context of the detrimental impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on SWB. |
| Keywords: | subjective well-being, satisfaction with areas of life, perceptions, values, gender differences |
| JEL: | D60 I31 J16 D03 |
| Date: | 2021–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14270&r=all |
| By: | Knoester, Chris; Li, Qi |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes 2012 General Social Survey data (N = 1,089) about preferences for paid paternity leave availability, lengths of leave offerings, and government funding of leaves. It highlights gender and gendered parenting role attitudes as predictors of leave preferences. Descriptive results revealed sizable (i.e., 53%) support for leave availability and moderate (i.e., 33%) support for some government funding; still, only modest (i.e., 5 weeks) lengths of leave offerings were desired. Regression results indicated that women were typically more likely than men to support more generous leave offerings. Consistently, dual-earner expectations were positively associated with preferences for more generous leave offerings. Separate spheres attitudes appeared to be meaningful for women’s preferences, but not for men’s preferences. Importantly, the findings from this study suggest that there have been longstanding preferences for more generous and widespread paid paternity leave offerings in the U.S.—and more public policy action is long overdue. |
| Date: | 2021–04–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:za8e3&r= |
| By: | Farzana Afridi; Amrita Dhillon; Sanchari Roy |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the gendered dimensions of employment and mental health among urban informal-sector workers in India. First, we find that men's employment declined by 84 percentage points post-pandemic relative to pre-pandemic, while their monthly earnings fell by 89 per cent relative to the baseline mean. In contrast, women did not experience any significant impact on employment post pandemic, as reported by their husbands. Second, we document very high levels of pandemic-induced mental stress, with wives reporting greater stress than husbands. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, Informal sector, Employment, Mental health, Social networks, Gender, India |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-65&r= |
| By: | Fall, François Seck; Tchuigoua, Hubert Tchakoute; Vanhems, Anne; Simar, Léopold (Université catholique de Louvain, LIDAM/ISBA, Belgium) |
| Abstract: | The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of gender on microfinance social efficiency. Our methodology is based on nonparametric techniques to estimate the gender effect. We use a conditional directional free disposal hull (FDH) approach as well as its robust version of order-; we study the effect of the heterogeneity factor on the difference of conditional and non conditional inefficiencies as well as on the inefficiency level using a local linear regression and we test the significance of its effect using a wild double bootstrap procedure. Using a cross-country sample of 680 microfinance institutes (MFIs) in 2011 from six main regions of the world, our findings suggest that gender diversity has globally a positive impact on the microfinance social efficiency. However, the nature of the effect depends on the considered heterogeneity factor and we find that the boardroom gender diversity effect is linear, whereas the effect of the percentage of women loan officers is non linear (U-shaped on the difference of inefficiencies and inverted U-shaped on the inefficiency levels). We assess the robustness of our findings on various subsamples (global or regional scale, and also depending on the considered profit oriented status). Our findings reinforce the importance of the role played by women in MFI social efficiency. |
| Keywords: | OR in developing countries ; Microfinance ; Gender ; Social Efficiency ; Heterogeneity ; Nonparametric Robust frontier models |
| Date: | 2020–08–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aiz:louvad:2020033&r=all |