1 Women Entrepreneurship Issues and Policies Frédéric Delmar Stockholm School of Economics

2 Presentation Background Purpose Domains –Women entrepreneurship and economic growth –Statistics on women entrepreneurship Possible policy implications

3 Background of the study Women’s entrepreneurship needs to be studied for two main reasons: –It has been recognized during the last decade as an important untapped source of economic growth –The invisibility of women in entrepreneurship both in society in general and in the social sciences

4 Purpose To investigate the availability of statistics and research on the role of women’s entrepreneurship in the economy; To propose further developments to acquire better knowledge about women entrepreneurship.

5 Assessing the economic impact Women entrepreneurship play an important role: –In Europe 10 million self-employed women provide employment for 16 million people –In the United States 6.4 million self-employed women provide employment for 9.2 million people –In all economies self-employment is an important career alternative for women –Women entrepreneurship is not only micro businesses

6 Lack of reliable information Need for more basic information (sex disaggregated, N, employment and sales) –At least cross sectional estimates Method biases: –age, –industry, –entry and exit, –legal form

7 Future and further changes Problems with definitions: –International comparisons –Women entrepreneurship vs. small firms Need for longitudinal analyses (the dynamics of e-ship): –Survival, growth, mergers and acquisitions

8 Conclusions Women entrepreneurship represents an important economic impact Some improvements have been made over the last ten years Still lack a reliable and detailed picture Cross-sectional a first step Longitudinal needed in the future