American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Access to Credit by Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Relevant Is Gender?
American Economic Review
vol. 103,
no. 3, May 2013
(pp. 293–97)
Abstract
The literature on the determinants of firms' financing constraints has paid little attention to gender as a determinant of access to finance. Using data for 34,342 firms from 90 developing countries, the paper analyzes the determinants of firms' financing constraints and assesses whether female-owned firms are more financially constrained than male-owned businesses. The results show that female-owned firms in sub-Saharan Africa are more likely to be financially constrained than male-owned firms, but there is no gender gap in other developing regions. The gender gap in sub-Saharan Africa is robust to variations in specifications and econometric estimation procedures.Citation
Asiedu, Elizabeth, Isaac Kalonda-Kanyama, Leonce Ndikumana, and Akwasi Nti-Addae. 2013. "Access to Credit by Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Relevant Is Gender?" American Economic Review, 103 (3): 293–97. DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.3.293Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- G21 Banks; Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
- G32 Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
- O14 Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
- O16 Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance