Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/102151 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 4803
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
Why do entrepreneurship rates differ so markedly by gender? Using data from a large, representative German household panel, we investigate to what extent personality traits, human capital, and the employment history influence the start-up decision and can explain the gender gap in entrepreneurship. Applying a decomposition analysis, we observe that the higher risk aversion among women explains a large share of the entrepreneurial gender gap. We also find an education effect contributing to the gender difference. In contrast, the Big Five model and the current employment state have effects in the opposite direction, meaning that the gender gap in entrepreneurial entry would be even larger if women had the same scores and the same employment status as men.
Subjects: 
entrepreneurship
gender gap
personality
decomposition analysis
JEL: 
L26
J16
D81
J24
M13
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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