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Second–Order Gender Effects: The Case of U.S. Small Business Borrowing Cost

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  • Zhenyu Wu
  • Jess H. Chua

Abstract

Gender–based differential treatment of business borrowers has been illegal for decades now. Therefore, any remaining gender effect is likely to be more subtle than before and second order in nature. Using 1,577 small businesses from the 2003 National Survey of Small Business Finances by the Federal Reserve Board, resolving the gender assignment problem, and isolating the supply effects, our tests detected a second–order gender effect in U.S. small business borrowing cost. Specifically, lenders charge female sole proprietorships an average of 73 basis points higher than male sole proprietorships. The methodology also ameliorates an interpretation problem common to first–order gender effects.

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  • Zhenyu Wu & Jess H. Chua, 2012. "Second–Order Gender Effects: The Case of U.S. Small Business Borrowing Cost," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(3), pages 443-463, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:36:y:2012:i:3:p:443-463
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00503.x
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    12. Link, Albert N. & Strong, Derek R., 2016. "Gender and Entrepreneurship: An Annotated Bibliography," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 12(4-5), pages 287-441, September.
    13. Sheela Pandey & Alejandro S. Amezcua, 2020. "Women’s business ownership and women’s entrepreneurship through the lens of U.S. federal policies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1123-1152, April.
    14. Li, Changhong & Xu, Yuan & Gill, Amarjit & Haider, Zulfiquer Ali & Wang, Yuan, 2019. "Religious beliefs, socially responsible investment, and cost of debt: Evidence from entrepreneurial firms in India," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 102-114.
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    16. Brogaard, Jonathan & Gerasimova, Nataliya & Rohrer, Maximilian, 2024. "The effect of female leadership on contracting from Capitol Hill to Main Street," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    17. Natalia Vershinina & Gideon Markman & Liang Han & Peter Rodgers & John Kitching & Nigar Hashimzade & Rowena Barrett, 2022. "Gendered regulations and SME performance in transition economies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 1113-1130, February.
    18. Yang, Shu & Kher, Romi & Newbert, Scott L., 2020. "What signals matter for social startups? It depends: The influence of gender role congruity on social impact accelerator selection decisions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2).
    19. Geiger, Mark, 2020. "A meta-analysis of the gender gap(s) in venture funding: Funder- and entrepreneur-driven perspectives," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 13(C).
    20. Malin Malmström & Jeaneth Johansson & Joakim Wincent, 2017. "Gender Stereotypes and Venture Support Decisions: How Governmental Venture Capitalists Socially Construct Entrepreneurs’ Potential," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(5), pages 833-860, September.
    21. Johan, Sofia A. & Wu, Zhenyu, 2014. "Does the quality of lender–borrower relationships affect small business access to debt? Evidence from Canada and implications in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 206-211.
    22. Forrester, Juanita Kimiyo & Neville, François, 2021. "An institutional perspective on borrowing discouragement among female-owned enterprises and the role of regional female empowerment," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    23. Barbara Orser & Susan Coleman & Yanhong Li, 2020. "Progress or pinkwashing: who benefits from digital women-focused capital funds?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 363-387, August.
    24. Song Zhang & Liang Han & Konstantinos Kallias & Antonios Kallias, 2022. "Bank switching of US small businesses: new methods and evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1573-1616, May.
    25. Sara Carter & Samuel Mwaura, 2014. "The Financing of Diverse Enterprises: Evidence from the SME finance monitor," Research Papers 0018, Enterprise Research Centre.

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