Female entrepreneurship in the US 1982-2012: Implications for welfare and aggregate output

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bento, Pedro
• 署名单位: Texas A&M University System; Texas A&M University College Station
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3932
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2024.103676
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: women; entrepreneurship; Business dynamism; misallocation; Aggregate productivity; Economic growth

摘要

The number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. has soared over the last several decades. In 1982 less than 13 percent of businesses were majority-owned by women. By 2012 this number reached 40 percent. This and other evidence suggests that women have faced significant barriers to running businesses. Interpreted through the lens of a model of entrepreneurship, observed trends imply substantial declines in several barriers facing female entrepreneurs. Together, these changes account for almost 4 percent of observed growth in aggregate output and a 3 percent increase in workers' consumption-equivalent welfare since 1982. By 2012, lower barriers increased the welfare of female entrepreneurs by a dramatic 116 percent, while lowering the welfare of male entrepreneurs by 5 percent. These impacts are in addition to any gains to workers from declining labor-market barriers.