Family comes first: Reproductive health and the gender gap in entrepreneurship *

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Zandberg, Jonathan
• 署名单位: Boston College
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.06.020
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 838-864
• 关键词: Entrepreneurship; self-employment; GENDER; Abortions; Reproductive rights

摘要

Better access to reproductive healthcare increases women's propensity to become entrepreneurs. Access correlates positively with female entrepreneurial activity and negatively with female entrepreneurial age. Examining firm size and personal income suggests it also improves the success of female-led businesses. None of these results hold when tested on men, women above 40, or other placebo professions. To establish causality, I exploit Roe v. Wade, state laws restricting abortion providers, and an index tracking state level regulation of reproductive care. All three analyses suggest that policies securing better reproductive care enable more women to become entrepreneurs. I conclude by discussing various possible channels and mechanisms. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.