Local industrial structures and female entrepreneurship in India
By: Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr, Stephen O'Connell
Contributors: Kerr, William R.; O'Connell, Stephen; Harvard Business School
Series: Working paper / Harvard Business School -- 12-036; Working paper (Harvard Business School) -- 12-036
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 27
Description: We analyze the spatial determinants of female entrepreneurship in India in the manufacturing and services sectors. We focus on the presence of incumbent female-owned businesses and their role in promoting higher subsequent female entrepreneurship relative to male entrepreneurship. We find evidence of agglomeration economies in both sectors, where higher female ownership among incumbent businesses within a district-industry predicts a greater share of subsequent entrepreneurs will be female. Moreover, higher female ownership of local businesses in related industries (e.g., those sharing similar labor needs, industries related via input-output markets) predict greater relative female entry rates even after controlling for the focal district-industry's conditions. The core patterns hold when using local industrial conditions in 1994 to instrument for incumbent conditions in 2000-2005. The results highlight that the traits of business owners in incumbent industrial structures influence the types of entrepreneurs supported.
Notes: "November 2011" -- Publisher's website.

Includes bibliographical references.