Barking up the Wrong Tree? Measuring Gender Gaps in Firm’s Access to Finance

Abstract

The literature on gender-based discrimination in credit markets is recently expanding, but the results are not yet definitive and have not been generally agreed upon. This paper exploits a new dataset on Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, which provides detailed information about female ownership and management in firms for investigating the existence of a gender gap in access to finance. The evidence presented herein suggests that more precise measures of the gender composition of the firm show that women-led businesses are more likely to be financially constrained than other comparable firms.     

The Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity: The Role of Market Imperfections

This paper hypothesises that labour and credit market imperfections – by discouraging off-farm income-generating activities and restricting access to inputs, respectively – affect female farm productivity more deeply than male productivity. The paper develops a theoretical model, which decomposes the contribution of various market imperfections to the gender productivity gap. Empirically we show that agricultural labour productivity is, on average, 44 per cent lower on female-headed plots than on those managed by male heads. 34 per cent of this gap is explained by differences in labour market access and 29 per cent by differences in credit access.     

Minority entrepreneurs and firm performance in sub‐Saharan Africa

This study focuses on the role of entrepreneurs in the private sector in sub‐Saharan Africa. Using data from the Regional Program on Enterprise Development (RPED) and controlling for various factors, our analysis compares growth rates of indigenously owned African firms with firms owned by entrepreneurs of Asian or European descent, in Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. We find that after controlling for firm size and age, various entrepreneurial characteristics, and sector and country differences, minority (or non‐indigenous) entrepreneur firms start out larger and grow significantly faster than indigenously‐owned African firms. Our results are consistent with theories that argue that informational and financial networks created by minority entrepreneurs provide access to credit, information, and technology for members of these networks. We also find that within indigenously‐owned African firms, entrepreneurs with secondary and/or university education realise a higher rate of growth; access to education presumably enables indigenous African entrepreneurs to develop managerial skills that serve as a substitute for the informational and financial networks created by minority entrepreneurs.     

Dynamism and Enterprise

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to see how Asian female entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom have developed and to increase our understanding of this entrepreneurial minority. The study looks at some of the more successful Asian women who are prominent in the United Kingdom by being featured in the top 200 Asian rich list. Both primary and secondary sources were used to profile these women. Open ended face-to-face interviews were also conducted with Asian women from second/third generations who had some business ownership stake in the more traditional low value added, labour intensive businesses. Questions centred around why they started their business, the support they received, the challenges facing them specifically as Asian women in business both at start up and beyond, their aspirations for the future of the business and their motivations.

The findings show that the gap appears to have widened between the more successful Asian business woman and those women who are still opting for low value added, labour intensive firms. The practical implications of this study are that Asian women are an increasingly important part of the SME group and thus increasing the quality of business provision, advice, start up and growth would make this vital sector even more productive. This study will also help sensitise and inform business support agents, banks, advisors both public sector and private. Understanding the needs of this entrepreneurial minority is important for academic, policy makers and support professionals.     

Informal borrowing sources and uses: insights from the North West Region,Cameroon

Abstract

This article seeks to analyse the informal borrowing sources of the poor as well as the purposes for borrowing. The obsession on characterising the poor as financially excluded fails to grasp their active financial lives. This article emphasises how relations of credit/debt are rooted in complex social and cultural forces. It is precisely because of the social embeddedness of credit that family finance, though interest-free, is not a first resort. Similarly, credit in kind from shopkeepers, though critical to consumption smoothing, is detested by some people. Also, it is argued that the involvement of the traditional leader in repayment enforcement in informal financial groups challenges the economistic narrative that attempts to separate credit from cultural norms.     

Viability of Self-Employment

Empirical studies on self-employment uniformly cite the high mortality rate in both developed and developing countries. Several studies on the entry into self-employment incorporate a savings constraint. Policy makers and international aid agencies have responded by providing credit to would-be entrepreneurs yet the mortality rate persists. We formulate a model of the viability of self-employment that incorporates the impact of cost perceptions at the time of entry. We use the ability to meet monthly loan repayment ratios as a measure of viability since loans are usually the largest explicit cost. Our results have important policy implications on the desirability of interest rate subsidies, the size of initial capital relative to market size and criteria for granting additional credit to existing enterprises.     

Inspirational Cameos

Abstract

Utilizing a narrative approach emanating from a small research study, this paper presents inspirational cameos of ethnic minority women entrepreneurs. The focal point is Indian women entrepreneurs in New Zealand. The theoretical perspective of mixed embeddedness, where institutional structures and the entrepreneurs play out their stories in the complexity of the political, psychological, social, and economic arenas, forms the backdrop for this paper. By presenting inspirational cameos of ordinary women who have achieved entrepreneurial success against the saga of Indian immigration, this paper is in contrast to much of the prevailing literature which focuses on blocking and constraining factors in the life experiences of ethnic minority migrant women entrepreneurs. Such cameos can be positioned to serve as exemplars of and for ethnic minority migrant women, particularly in a world where many ethnic minority women and entrepreneurial educators are often unaware of ethnic minority role models.     

Dynamics of Indonesian democratisation

Financial sector liberalisation has led to market failure on a massive scale. In industrial countries market failure led to the Great Financial Crisis that erupted in 2007 and continues into its fifth year. In developing countries liberalised financial markets have failed to provide access to financial services for the vast majority of households and firms. Small and medium-sized enterprises (smes), which are critical for employment, income creation and economic development, are particularly excluded by liberalised private financial markets. Market failure necessitates government intervention. To enhance smes' financial access requires an activist role by governments—not only by ensuring an enabling policy framework and financial infrastructure for smes, but also by supporting direct provision of financial services through national development banks and directed credit programmes. More broadly the crisis also provides an opening for a neo-structuralist development paradigm to replace the failed Washington Consensus. In this context activist financial sector policies should be integrated with industrial sector strategies.     

On the Duration of Self-Employment: The Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions

The article examines the role of lending rates, imports and growth on the duration of self-employment in Zimbabwe while the country embarked on trade liberalisation. The variables were selected because of their importance as policy variables in reform programmes and also their importance to small entrepreneurs. Previous research has established the importance of an initial endowment and other measures of human capital on entry into self-employment as well as growth of the respective enterprises. We show that such initial conditions do not always give robust results. Instead, duration of self-employment is negatively related to higher lending rates, increased imports and structural change, but responds positively to growth.     

Credit access,human capital and class structure mobility

This article examines the impact of microenterprise credit programmes on class structure mobility in developing countries. It develops a model that endogenously generates an eight‐fold class structure. Class membership is determined by optimal choice of labour activity, which is a function of access to credit and human capital endowments. Predictions from the model suggest that better access to credit will foster upward class mobility among self‐employed entrepreneurs, and that this upward class mobility will be accentuated among entrepreneurs with high levels of human capital. Theoretical predictions from the model are compared with data on class structure mobility collected first‐hand in western Guatemala. Empirical results show that upward class structure mobility increases substantially with access to credit, and also suggest that the combined effect of innate entrepreneurial ability and credit access has a greater impact on upward class structure mobility than the interaction between formal schooling and credit access.     

The Portrayal of Female Terrorists in the Media: Similar Framing Patterns in the News Coverage of Women in Politics and in Terrorism

Abstract

Although women have been among the leaders and followers of terrorist organizations throughout the history of modern terrorism, the mass media typically depict women terrorists as interlopers in an utterly male domain. A comparison of the framing patterns in the news about women in politics and the entrenched stereotypes in the coverage of female terrorists demonstrates similarities in the depiction of these legitimate (women in politics) and illegitimate political actors (women in terrorism). Just like the managers of election campaigns are cognizant of the electorate's stereotypical gender perceptions, terrorist organizations know about and exploit cultural gender clichés that are reinforced by the media. The argument here is that the implementation of anti- and counterterrorist policies must not be influenced by the mass-mediated images of female terrorists because they do not reflect reality.     

Are Daughters Always the Losers in the Chore War? Evidence Using Household Data from Vietnam

Abstract

We examine the gender gap in housework in Vietnam among siblings aged less than 18 years. We show daughters undertake 5.25 minutes more unpaid housework per day than sons. However, the gender gap in housework is negligible for children aged less than 14 years. A decline in the gender gap at 15 years of age suggests parents eventually begin to consider the education of their daughters. Before then, however, the gender gap increases with age and can be even greater if daughters also engage in paid work.     

“HEALTHFUL GOODS”: HEALTH,HYGIENE, AND COMMERCIAL CULTURE IN EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY SHANGHAI

Abstract

This article examines the development of Shanghai’s household-chemical industry, which produced and sold soap, toothpowder, and toothpaste, and other personal hygiene items, and discusses how the ideas of health and hygiene became an integral part of the city’s commercial culture in the early twentieth century. Through various commercial strategies, Shanghai’s businessmen promoted their commodities and hygiene practices simultaneously. They also actively participated in mass movements organized by the Nationalist state, since such movements provided a marketing opportunity for them. This article argues that precisely because they were doing business, Shanghai’s small entrepreneurs successfully connected personal hygiene, national strength, and the act of buying.     

Enterprise Growth and Survival in Vietnam: Does Government Support Matter?

This paper analyses whether direct government assistance during start-up and other forms of interaction with the state sector have influenced the long-run performance of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. Using three partly overlapping surveys during the period 1990–2000, we find strong effects on firm dynamics from interaction with state institutions. Enterprises which have the state sector as their main customer perform better. This is so for both survival and growth. Moreover, temporary tax exemptions during firm start-up had a separate and positive influence on long-run growth for non-household enterprises and initial credit support seems to benefit rural firms.     

Connectedness and SME Financing in Post-Communist Economies: Evidence from Uzbekistan

Abstract

This paper investigates effects of interpersonal links with bureaucrats on SME access to formal finance. A survey of 502 SMEs in post-communist Uzbekistan shows fewer SMEs with government connections express a need for external finance, but success rates of applications are higher than for SMEs without connections. Econometric models show government-connected SMEs receive more formal credit than their counterparts. The small share of SME credit available is thus distributed in favour of those capitalising on bureaucratic links, with consequent resource misallocation. Findings imply that greater SME credit flows need supplementing with capacity building that improves bank transparency and efficiency.     

Short-term Labour Migration from the Republic of Armenia to the Russian Federation

Abstract

We explore the determinants of short-term labour migration from Armenia to Russia based on a unique panel dataset. A dynamic switching regression model with endogenous switching is applied. Our evidence pinpoints migration experience, the expected individual income gap from migration, low job opportunities in Armenia and the possibility of diversifying income risks as the most important determinants. Family ties turn out to be insignificant. The hypothetical income gap is about 280 per cent. Several explanations are provided for the fact that some individuals do not migrate in spite of a large income gap.     

Local Navigations in a Global Industry: The Gendered Nature of Entrepreneurship in Ghana’s Oil and Gas Service Sector

Oil and gas discoveries spurred expectations of economic growth and employment in Ghana. The demand for labour is however limited within offshore petroleum extraction. Employment generation therefore depends on the development of an onshore oil and gas service sector. This study examines the strategies adopted by local entrepreneurs in the ‘oil city’ of Takoradi, focusing on the gendered nature of their activities, skills, networks and capital sources. I argue that the petroleum industry’s male dominance and international standards requirements, coupled with gender constraints regarding work and access to relevant resources, limit female entrepreneurs’ creation of employment in this emerging sector.     

Where is the ‘Plus’ in ‘Credit-Plus’? The Case of Chiapas,Mexico

Abstract

It has become common to try and increase the effectiveness of microfinance programmes by adding supplementary services to the financial product. However, the added value accruing from this ‘credit-plus’ approach has been little analysed. We hypothesise that the extent of added value from credit-plus depends on the ability of the credit supplier to cultivate trust, or social capital, amongst clients. Applying difference-in-difference estimation, we exploit a natural experiment of two ‘credit-plus’ programmes in Mexico. The findings suggest that credit-plus is not universally effective, but that it is at its most effective, especially with low-income groups, where ‘bonding’ (within-group) social capital exists.     

Immigration to Portugal

Abstract

A peripheral West European country with a medium-sized population, Portugal experienced since the late 1990s a radical change in its migration trends, with growing and constant immigration flows. Not only the number of legal immigrants duplicated, but also the profile of immigrants changed and diversified. As a result, Portugal's public policies were challenged, and new social questions emerged. In particular, both public and private bodies have to deal with an increasing segmentation of the composition of immigration and of the labor market employing immigrants. Portugal still has not opted clearly for a model of immigration, and adaptation to these changes promises not to be easy, especially because the Portuguese society is simultaneously facing tensions deriving from its own     

Rhetoric in municipal amalgamations: a comparative analysis

ABSTRACT

There is a large literature that seeks to evaluate municipal amalgamations ex post, but a relative dearth of scholarly inquiry into the practical political task of persuading the public to accept amalgamations ex ante. We address this important gap in the literature by conducting a rhetorical analysis to ascertain what types of arguments are believed to be efficacious for persuasion on amalgamation. We find evidence to suggest belief in the efficacy of persuading the public through recourse to various projected dreadful consequences, particularly amongst opponents of amalgamation. We conclude by considering some of the reasons behind the observed rhetorics and briefly outline one possible solution.