Working Paper: NBER ID: w17596
Authors: Ejaz Ghani; William R. Kerr; Stephen D. O'Connell
Abstract: We analyze the spatial determinants of female entrepreneurship in India in the manufacturing and services sectors. We focus on the presence of incumbent female-owned businesses and their role in promoting higher subsequent female entrepreneurship relative to male entrepreneurship. We find evidence of agglomeration economies in both sectors, where higher female ownership among incumbent businesses within a district-industry predicts a greater share of subsequent entrepreneurs will be female. Moreover, higher female ownership of local businesses in related industries (e.g., those sharing similar labor needs, industries related via input-output markets) predict greater relative female entry rates even after controlling for the focal district-industry's conditions. The core patterns hold when using local industrial conditions in 1994 to instrument for incumbent conditions in 2000-2005. The results highlight that the traits of business owners in incumbent industrial structures influence the types of entrepreneurs supported.
Keywords: female entrepreneurship; India; local industrial structures; agglomeration economies
JEL Codes: J16; L10; L26; L60; L80; M13; O10; R00; R10; R12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| existing female business networks (L14) | influence the types of entrepreneurs supported (L26) |
| higher female ownership among incumbent businesses within a district-industry (L69) | greater share of subsequent entrepreneurs who will be female (L26) |
| higher female ownership of local businesses in related industries (J54) | greater relative female entry rates (J79) |
| favorable incumbent industrial conditions (L69) | increase subsequent relative rate of female entrepreneurship (L26) |
| better local infrastructure (R53) | higher female entry rates (J16) |