Working Paper: NBER ID: w21093
Authors: Erica Field; Seema Jayachandran; Rohini Pande; Natalia Rigol
Abstract: Does the lack of peers contribute to the observed gender gap in entrepreneurial success, and is the constraint stronger for women facing more restrictive social norms? We offered two days of business counseling to a random sample of customers of India’s largest women’s bank. A random subsample was invited to attend with a friend. The intervention had a significant immediate impact on participants’ business activity, but only if they were trained in the presence of a friend. Four months later, those trained with a friend were more likely to have taken out business loans, were less likely to be housewives, and reported increased business activity and higher household income. The positive impacts of training with a friend were stronger among women from religious or caste groups with social norms that restrict female mobility.
Keywords: female entrepreneurship; peer effects; business training; social norms; microfinance
JEL Codes: O0
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Training with a friend (M53) | Business loan uptake (G21) |
| Training with a friend (M53) | Business activity (M21) |
| Training with a friend (M53) | Household income (D19) |
| Training with a friend (M53) | Increased aspirations and goal-setting (I24) |
| Peer presence (C92) | Financial behavior (G53) |