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Credit Access for Small Firms in the Euro Area: Does Gender Matter?

In: Access to Bank Credit and SME Financing

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Lucia Stefani

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Valerio Vacca

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

This paper uses ECB survey data to assess whether gender matters in small firms’ access to credit. Firms owned or managed by women (female firms) use smaller quantities and less heterogeneous sources of external financing than their male counterparts. Female firms apply for bank loans less frequently, as they more often anticipate rejection, and they experience a higher rejection rate. Econometric analysis shows that these different patterns are largely explained by the characteristics that make female firms structurally different from those led by men, without a significant gender effect. This paper also compares the main euro area countries within a homogeneous framework; weak evidence of gender discrimination appears in the supply of bank loans in Germany, Italy and Spain, while demand obstacles arise in France.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Lucia Stefani & Valerio Vacca, 2017. "Credit Access for Small Firms in the Euro Area: Does Gender Matter?," Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions, in: Stefania Rossi (ed.), Access to Bank Credit and SME Financing, chapter 4, pages 83-119, Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:pmschp:978-3-319-41363-1_4
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-41363-1_4
    as

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