Gender, small firm ownership, and credit access: some insights from India
利用印度中小微企业数据，研究发现女性拥有的企业在规模、增长和效率上显著落后于男性企业，且在获取机构信贷方面处于劣势，表明解决信贷市场性别歧视有助于缩小绩效差距。
Using a comprehensive dataset on micro, small, and medium enterprises in India, we examine whether the gender of the owner matters in firm performance and in credit access from institutional sources. The study finds significant underperformance in the size, growth, and efficiency of firms owned by women when compared to those owned by men. In line with the evidence in the existing literature, our findings also support the view that women-owned firms are disadvantaged in the market for small-business credit. These findings suggest that addressing gender discrimination in the small-business credit market could help, partly, in bridging the performance gap between male- and female-owned firms.