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Closing the Finance Gap by Nudging: Impact Assessment of Public Grants for Women Entrepreneurs

Author

Listed:
  • Stjepan Srhoj

    (Department for Economics and Business Economics, University of Dubrovnik)

  • Bruno Skrinjaric

    (The Institute of Economics, Zagreb)

  • Sonja Radas

    (The Institute of Economics, Zagreb)

  • Janette Walde

    (Department of Statistics, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, University of Innsbruck)

Abstract

Several recent papers draw attention to a lack of rigorous research on public policies supporting women entrepreneurs' competitiveness. This paper evaluates the effect of small business development gender-specific matching grants using a quasi-experimental approach. The grants have a positive effect on firm survival, as well as positive effects on obtaining bank loans, turnover, value added, employment, and total factor productivity. Heterogeneous treatment effects show that the grants increase the chance of young women entrepreneurs' firm survival and are even more effective for firms owned by mature women. Cost-benefit analysis estimates an increase in value added, which outweighs scheme-induced costs by 80% in the short-run and 170% in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Stjepan Srhoj & Bruno Skrinjaric & Sonja Radas & Janette Walde, 2019. "Closing the Finance Gap by Nudging: Impact Assessment of Public Grants for Women Entrepreneurs," Working Papers 1902, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb.
    • Handle: RePEc:iez:wpaper:1902
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Srhoj Stjepan & Zilic Ivan, 2021. "“Fine...I’ll do it myself”: Lessons from self-employment grants in a long recession period," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-32, May.
    2. Ondřej Dvouletý & Stjepan Srhoj & Smaranda Pantea, 2021. "Public SME grants and firm performance in European Union: A systematic review of empirical evidence," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 243-263, June.
    3. Mahmutaj Lura Rexhepi & Krasniqi Besnik, 2020. "Innovation Types and Sales Growth in Small Firms: Evidence from Kosovo," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 15(1), pages 27-43, June.
    4. Marin Kukoc & Bruno Skrinjaric & Josip Juracak, 2020. "The Impact Assessment of the EU Pre-Accession Funds on Agriculture and Food Companies: The Croatian Case," Working Papers 2002, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    women entrepreneurship; public grants; policy evaluation; gender financing gap; behavioral additionality; nudging;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B54 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Feminist Economics
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • H81 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Governmental Loans; Loan Guarantees; Credits; Grants; Bailouts
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • L38 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Policy
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate

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