@article{Gang_Natarajan_Sen_Yun_2022, title={Does the Gender of the Owner Affect the Productivity of Enterprises in India’s Informal Economy?}, volume={31}, url={https://jid.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jid/article/view/40548}, DOI={10.25071/1874-6322.40548}, abstractNote={<p>We examine the patterns and correlates of the productivity gap between<br>male- and female-owned enterprises in India’s informal sector.<br>Female-owned firms are 45 per cent less productive than male-owned firms<br>on average, with the greatest productivity gaps observed at the lower end of<br>the productivity distribution. We measure a firm’s productivity in terms of<br>its labour productivity. Using decomposition methods, we find that<br>structural effects account for approximately 73 per cent of the productivity<br>gap, with the remainder attributable to differences in observable<br>characteristics captured by composition effects. We also find that, among<br>observable characteristics, the most important set of factors explaining the<br>gender productivity gap are the characteristics of a firm, such as its size,<br>age, receipt of government assistance, registration with state authorities,<br>contract-based work, and accounting records. Male-owned firms have a<br>competitive advantage over female-owned enterprises with respect to these<br>characteristics.</p>}, number={3-4}, journal={Journal of Income Distribution®}, author={Gang, Ira and Natarajan, Rajesh Raj and Sen, Kunal and Yun, Myeong-Su}, year={2022}, month={Oct.} }