The GLO Discussion Paper of the Month of January shows that promoting access to credit and improving the property rights framework are vital for removing barriers to productive female entrepreneurship at a larger scale in countries such as  Eswatini, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. The paper makes a significant contribution to policy debates, suggesting  that policy interventions aimed at removing obstacles to female land tenure and ownership could greatly benefit Southern African countries.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS, EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs downloadable for free.

GLO Discussion Paper of the Month: January

GLO Discussion Paper No.  457, 2020

457 Enterprising women in Southern Africa: When does land ownership matter? –  Download PDF
by Brixiová, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry & Tregenna, Fiona  

GLO Fellow  Zuzana Brixiová

Author Abstract:   Limited access to finance is one of the major barriers for women entrepreneurs in Africa. This paper presents a model of start-ups in which firms’ sales and profits depend on their productivity and access to credit. However, due to the lack of collateral assets such as land, female entrepreneurs have more constrained access to credit than do men. Testing the model on data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys in Eswatini, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, we find land ownership to be important for female entrepreneurial performance in terms of sales levels. This finding suggests that the small Southern African economies would benefit from removing obstacles to women’s land tenure and enabling financial institutions to lend against movable collateral. While land ownership is linked with higher sales levels, it seems less critical for sales growth and innovation where access to short term loans for working capital seems to be key.

GLO Discussion Papers of January 2020

459 One billion euro program for early childcare services in Italy –  Download PDF
by Giorgetti, Isabella & Picchio, Matteo

458 Law enforcement, social control and organized crime. Evidence from local government dismissals in Italy –  Download PDF
by Cingano, Federico & Tonello, Marco

457 Enterprising women in Southern Africa: When does land ownership matter? –  Download PDF
by Brixiová, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry & Tregenna, Fiona

456 Agricultural Transformation and Farmers’ Expectations: Experimental Evidence from Uganda –  Download PDF
by Bonan, Jacopo & Kazianga, Harounan & Mendola, Mariapia

455 Reforms and Employment in The Egyptian Labor Market: Evolution by Age From 1988 to 2006 –  Download PDF
by Selwaness, Irene

454 Early Life Environments and Frailty in Old Age among Chinese Older Adults –  Download PDF
by Li, Xaxi & Xue, Qian-Li & Odden, Michelle C. & Chen, Xi & Wu, Chenkai

453 Social Security Expansion and Neighborhood Cohesion: Evidence from Community-Living Older Adults in China –  Download PDF
by Bradley, Elizabeth & Chen, Xi & Tang, Gaojie

452 Prenatal Sunshine Exposure and Birth Outcomes in China –  Download PDF
by Zhang, Xin & Wang, Yixuan & Chen, Xi & Zhang, Xun

451 Health Inequality among Chinese Older Adults: The Role of Childhood Circumstances –  Download PDF
by Yan, Binjian & Chen, Xi & Gill, Thomas M.

450 Names and Behavior in a War –  Download PDF
by Jurajda, Štěpán & Kovač, Dejan

449 Innovation and Self-Employment –  Download PDF
by Ciarli, Tommaso & Di Ubaldo, Mattia & Savona, Maria

448 Rent sharing in China: Magnitude, heterogeneity and drivers –  Download PDF
by Duan, Wenjing & Martins, Pedro S.

447 Spending in social services in China: A multi-country analysis –  Download PDF
by Bajo-Rubio, Oscar & Gómez‐Plana, Antonio G.

446 Time-Space Dynamics of Return and Circular Migration: Theories and Evidence –  Download PDF
by Constant, Amelie F.

445 It’s the way people move! Labour migration as an adjustment device in Russia –  Download PDF
by Pastore, Francesco & Semerikova, Elena

444 Legal History, Institutions and Banking System Development in Africa –  Download PDF
by Mutarindwa, Samuel & Schäfer, Dorothea & Stephan, Andreas

443 Robots, Reshoring, and the Lot of Low-Skilled Workers –  Download PDF
by Krenz, Astrid & Prettner, Klaus & Strulik, Holger

442 Competitive strategies, heterogeneous demand sources and firms’ growth trajectories –  Download PDF
by Caravella, Serenella & Crespi, Francesco & Guarascio, Dario & Tubiana, Matteo

441 Livelihood Diversification Strategies: Resisting Vulnerability in Egypt –  Download PDF
by Helmy, Imane

440 Social Safety Nets in Tunisia: Do Benefits Reach the Poor and Vulnerable Households at the Regional Level? –  Download PDF
by Nasri, Khaled

439 Agricultural credits and agricultural productivity: Cross-country evidence –  Download PDF
by Seven, Unal & Tumen, Semih

GLO DP Team
Senior Editors: Matloob Piracha (University of Kent) & GLO; Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University and Bonn University).
Managing Editor: Magdalena Ulceluse, University of Groningen. DP@glabor.org