Escape Through Export? Women-Owned Enterprises, Domestic Discrimination, and Global Markets

Bibliographic Data

ID12802485
AuthorsIain Osgood (0000-0002-6084-7102, corresponding author), M Beth Peters
Year2017
Volume12
Issue2
Pages143-183
Publication date2017-09-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuarterly Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1554-0626 • E-ISSN: 1554-0634
PublisherNow Publishers (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1561/100.00015177
OpenAlexW2751247934
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited54

Does globalization provide an escape from discriminatory legal and social institutions for women-owned enterprises? We develop an original test of this proposition based on a model of firm heterogeneity with discriminatory costs. Discriminatory institutions raise barriers to entry and increase costs of production, allowing only the most productive women-owned firms to survive. If the costs of discrimination are lower in export markets, the average surviving woman-owned firm is more likely to export and exports a higher proportion of total sales. Using a cross-national data set of firms, we show that while there are significantly fewer women-owned enterprises in countries with discriminatory institutions, these businesses export at higher rates. Global markets therefore provide an important, albeit imperfect, alternative to markets with poor protections of women’s rights

Business · Domestic market · Economics · International economics · International trade · Market economy · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Indian Economic and Social Development · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

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