Gender Differences in Entrepreneurial Propensity*
利用17国人口调查数据，发现女性创业率低主要源于创业倾向低而非企业存活率低，并揭示信心、社交网络和恐惧失败等机制解释了大部分性别差距。
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.