Being in Someone Else’s Shoes: the Role of Gender in Nascent Entrepreneurship

Several studies have shown the existence of significant differences in the rate of new business creation between men and women. Specifically, it has been shown that women are much less likely to be involved in entrepreneurship than men worldwide. It is not yet understood, however, if such differences are the result of personal characteristics of the individual and of her economic environment or are, instead, the result of universal and, perhaps, evolutionary phenomena. Our empirical analysis is conducted using representative samples of population for 37 countries and a special form of bootstrapping that allows us to equalize individuals’ conditions and, as a result, analyze the choices of men and women put in identical economic environments and socio-economic circumstances.