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Is there an employee-based gender gap in informal financial markets? International evidence

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  • An, Jiafu

Abstract

We study the impact of female production workers on firms' access to trade credits across the world. Using two sources of plausibly exogenous variations in gender bias and a difference-in-differences framework, we document that firms with more female production workers have less access to trade credits in countries with stronger gender beliefs that favor males. This relationship is largely driven by firms in industries with unexpected credit shortages and industries dominated by males. Since female firms rely more on informal finance, this study is relevant for policies that direct female firms towards formal credit markets in highly gender-biased places.

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  • An, Jiafu, 2020. "Is there an employee-based gender gap in informal financial markets? International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:65:y:2020:i:c:s0929119920301814
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2020.101737
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender bias; Trade credit; Plough; Female employee;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • N50 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - General, International, or Comparative

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