Gender Differences in Determinants of Entrepreneurial Intentions in a Rural Setting
Innovative Marketing, No. 1, 2008
27 Pages Posted: 30 Mar 2008
Abstract
Prior research suggests that in an urban setting the share of women in total entrepreneurial activity still lags behind the share of women in the labor force, and that female entrepreneurship may be influenced by different factors than male entrepreneurship. This paper investigates whether males and females are influenced by different factors when making a decision to start new businesses in a rural setting in the post Tobacco Buyout era. The analysis is based on the unique dataset collected during the ongoing natural experiment in the Appalachian region in U.S. The data supports the hypothesis that females, but not males, are pushed into entrepreneurial activities by changing economic environments and lack of household income. The analysis also illustrates that the family structure and internal family events, such as death of a household member or divorce, strongly influence the decision to start a new business, and that these effects vary by gender.
Keywords: rural entrepreneurship, gender differences, transition local economy
JEL Classification: O18, J16, J23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation