Work

Female Business Ownership and Informal Sector Persistence

Year: 2013

Type: report

Abstract: The informal sector in India has been exceptionally persistent over the past two decades. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. This paper shows that a substantial share of the persistence in India's unorganized manufacturing sector is due to the rapid increase in female-owned businesses. Had women's participation remained in the proportion to male-owned businesses that was evident in 1994, the unorganized manufacturing sector would have declined in share rather than increased. Most of these new female-owned businesses are opened in the household and at a small scale, about a third of the size of a typical male-owned business in the informal sector. Yet, it appears that these businesses offer economic opportunities not otherwise present and a transition for some women from unpaid domestic work.

Source: World Bank, Washington, DC eBooks

DOI: 10.1596/1813-9450-6612

Authors: William R. Kerr, Ejaz Ghani, Stephen D. O'Connell

Institutions: World Bank, Harvard University, The Graduate Center, CUNY, City University of New York

Language: English

Topic: Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Gender equality, No poverty, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W1605083774

Cites: 57

Cited by: 20

Related to: 10