Abstract
We examine credit constraint differentials between male and female manufacturing entrepreneurs using firm data from 16 sub-Saharan Africa countries. Small enterprises owned by female entrepreneurs are less likely to be credit constrained compared to their male counterparts, while this is reversed for medium-sized enterprises. A generalised Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition shows that the gap is predominantly a pure gender effect. We argue that this finding is mainly due to female favouritism in loans to micro and small firms because the gap is reversed for medium-sized enterprises and because we find no sign of superior female entrepreneurial performance in observable indicators.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Development Studies |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 1 |
Pages (from-to) | 81-96 |
ISSN | 0022-0388 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |