This study shows that female role model encourages women-led firms to apply for a credit. Employing a sample of of 29,157 firms from 112 countries between 2009 and 2020, our results indicate that the exposure to a female political leader offsets the likelihood for woman-led firms to be...

This paper documents the relationship between legal gender equality and the use of financial services, using individual-level data from 148 developed and developing economies. The analysis, which combines data from the Global Findex and Women, Business and the Law databases, highlights the...

Literature points out that women are more discouraged compared to their male counterparts to apply for a loan. However, little is known about the influence exerted by a feminine business environment for women-led firms. Using a dataset of 8,966 firms from 96 countries, we find that...

Does a women-friendly legal environment help women to overcome discrimination in credit markets? By examining antidiscrimination laws and their implications for women-led businesses' access to credit in 124 countries, the current study differentiates an effect on discouragement (i.e., not asking...

This paper addresses the effects of female political role models on shaping women’s entrepreneurial activity and perceptions. Using a bivariate probit with an instrument, our findings reveal that the presence of female political leaders reduces the fear of failure towards entrepreneurial...