Gender Differences in Entrepreneurial Propensity* |
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| Authors: | Philipp Koellinger Maria Minniti Christian Schade |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Applied Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands (e‐mail: koellinger@ese.eur.nl);2. Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 750333, Dallas, TX, 75275 USA (e‐mail: mminniti@cox.smu.edu);3. Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, School of Business and Economics, Humboldt‐Universit?t zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany (e‐mail: cds@wiwi.hu-berlin.de) |
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| Abstract: | Using data from representative population surveys in 17 countries, we find that the lower rate of female business ownership is primarily due to women's lower propensity to start businesses rather than to differences in survival rates across genders. We show that women are less confident in their entrepreneurial skills, have different social networks and exhibit higher fear of failure than men. After controlling for endogeneity, we find that these variables explain a substantial part of the gender gap in entrepreneurial activity. Although, of course, their relative importance varies significantly across countries, these factors appear to have a universal effect. |
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| Keywords: | L26 J24 J16 |
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