Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/225295 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
Kiel Working Paper No. 2168
Publisher: 
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), Kiel
Abstract: 
We explore the export performance of Africa's underperforming female entrepreneurs, using the Ghanaian ISSER-IGC panel, a comprehensive dataset of manufacturing firms for 2011-2015. Uniquely, the data provides information about the severity of key business constraints, across both male and female entrepreneurs. We find that females are less likely to export (and optimize their exporting) than their male peers. Although reduced access to finance seriously constrains the exports of female entrepreneurs, this limitation does not explain their relative inability to leverage value from exports. Consistent with related work, we find that certain social and cultural constraints, in particular constraints linked to bribes and security concerns, are more deeply felt by female entrepreneurs. This may hint at the exclusion of Africa's females (voluntarily or involuntarily) from male-dominated networks or business practices.
Subjects: 
female entrepreneurship
business constraints
productivity
exporting
Africa
Ghana
JEL: 
D22
F14
J16
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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