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Seeing the World with Different Eyes

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Author Info
Philipp Koellinger () (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Maria Minniti () (Southern Methodist University)
Christian Schade () (Humboldt University Berlin)

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Abstract

Across countries, women own significantly fewer businesses than do men. We show that this is due, in large part, to the fact that the propensity to start businesses of women is significantly lower than that of men. The lower propensity of women, in turn, appears to be highly correlated to women’s lower average levels of optimism and self-confidence, and higher fear of failure. Ceteris paribus, women and men have different perceptions of the business environment and, as a result, make different decisions. We provide some evidence that this may be universally true and independent from culture, although country specific factors seem to influence perceptual differences between genders. We also show that women who are more self-confident and undeterred by failure have a greater probability to start a business than men with similar characteristics.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Tinbergen Institute in its series Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers with number 08-035/3.

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Date of creation: 01 Apr 2008
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Handle: RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20080035

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Related research
Keywords: Nascent entrepreneurship; gender; perceptions; judgment and decision making;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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    Other versions:
  2. Eckel, Catherine C & Grossman, Philip J, 1998. "Are Women Less Selfish Than Men? Evidence from Dictator Experiments," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(448), pages 726-35, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
  17. Uri Gneezy & Aldo Rustichini, 2004. "Gender and Competition at a Young Age," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 377-381, May. [Downloadable!]
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    Other versions:
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Ingrid Verheul & Linda van Mil, 2008. "What Determines the Growth Ambition of Dutch Early-Stage Entrepreneurs?," Scales Research Reports H200811, EIM Business and Policy Research. [Downloadable!]
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