Abstract
Despite a growing literature investigating the effect of gender diversity of CEOs and firm performance, the answer is still unclear. This study estimates the effect of gender differences in ownership and Leadership (CEOs) on firm performance simultaneously. The paper exploits a unique data from more than 9000 Indian firms by using fixed effects and propensity score matching techniques. Findings reveal a positive significant effect of female CEOs on firm performance but no definite effect of female owners on firm performance. The effect is more prominent in progressive and high-sex ratio states in India. Third, the evidence suggests potential payoffs to firms that adopt gender-inclusive policies intended to increase the share of female CEOs in India. Results confirm no bias from unobservable covariates.
Funding source: University of Adelaide
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Benedikt Heid, Richard Pomfret, Umair Khalil, Giulio Zanella, Kym Anderson, Terrence Cheng, Lionel Page, Luca Flabbi, Sarah Dong, and Firmin Doko Tchatoka for their helpful comments and suggestions. Also, thanks to the seminar participants at the School of Economics Workshop, Adelaide PhD Summer Institute at the University of Adelaide and the Australasian Development Economics Workshop held at Australian National University. I am extremely thankful to the editor, Sandra Ludwig, and the anonymous referees for their comments and suggestions. Their input has significantly contributed to refining the paper. The usual caveat applies. The data used for the study is freely available online from World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES). Lastly, I acknowledge financial support for this research from the University of Adelaide’s-ASI Scholarship for Doctoral Program.
References
Acemoglu, D., S. Johnson, and J. A. Robinson. 2001. “The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation.” The American Economic Review 91 (5): 1369–401. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.5.1369.Suche in Google Scholar
Ahern, K. R., and A. K. Dittmar. 2012. “The Changing of the Boards: The Impact on Firm Valuation of Mandated Female Board Representation.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 127 (1): 137–97. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr049.Suche in Google Scholar
Arnold, F., M. K. Choe, and T. K. Roy. 1998. “Son Preference, the Family-Building Process and Child Mortality in India.” Population Studies 52 (3): 301–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/0032472031000150486.Suche in Google Scholar
Asiedu, E., I. Kalonda-Kanyama, L. Ndikumana, and A. Nti-Addae. 2013. “Access to Credit by Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Relevant is Gender?” The American Economic Review 103 (3): 293–7. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.3.293.Suche in Google Scholar
Aterido, R., and M. Hallward-Driemeier. 2011. “Whose Business is it Anyway?” Small Business Economics 37 (4): 443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-011-9375-y.Suche in Google Scholar
Aterido, R., T. Beck, and L. Iacovone. 2013. “Access to Finance in Sub-saharan Africa: Is There a Gender Gap?” World Development 47: 102–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.02.013.Suche in Google Scholar
Bardasi, E., S. Sabarwal, and K. Terrell. 2011. “How Do Female Entrepreneurs Perform? Evidence from Three Developing Regions.” Small Business Economics 37 (4): 417. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-011-9374-z.Suche in Google Scholar
Becker, G. S. 2010. The Economics of Discrimination. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Bertrand, M., S. E. Black, S. Jensen, and A. Lleras-Muney. 2019. “Breaking the Glass Ceiling? the Effect of Board Quotas on Female Labour Market Outcomes in norway.” The Review of Economic Studies 86 (1): 191–239.10.1093/restud/rdy032Suche in Google Scholar
Bloom, N., and J. Van Reenen. 2007. “Measuring and Explaining Management Practices across Firms and Countries.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 122 (4): 1351–408. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2007.122.4.1351.Suche in Google Scholar
Breen, M., R. Gillanders, G. McNulty, and A. Suzuki. 2017. “Gender and Corruption in Business.” Journal of Development Studies 53 (9): 1486–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2016.1234036.Suche in Google Scholar
Bruhn, M., D. Karlan, and A. Schoar. 2010. “What Capital is Missing in Developing Countries?” The American Economic Review 100 (2): 629–33. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.2.629.Suche in Google Scholar
Caliendo, M., and S. Kopeinig. 2008. “Some Practical Guidance for the Implementation of Propensity Score Matching.” Journal of Economic Surveys 22 (1): 31–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2007.00527.x.Suche in Google Scholar
Census of India. 2011. Office of the Registrar General and Cencus Commissionar. India: Census of India.Suche in Google Scholar
Chaudhuri, K., F. Schneider, and S. Chattopadhyay. 2006. “The Size and Development of the Shadow Economy: An Empirical Investigation from States of India.” Journal of Development Economics 80 (2): 428–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2005.02.011.Suche in Google Scholar
Cook, A., and C. Glass. 2014. “Women and Top Leadership Positions: Towards an Institutional Analysis.” Gender, Work and Organization 21 (1): 91–103. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12018.Suche in Google Scholar
Derné, S. 1995. Culture in Action: Family Life, Emotion, and Male Dominance in Banaras, India. Albany: State University of New York Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Duflo, E. 2012. “Women Empowerment and Economic Development.” Journal of Economic Literature 50 (4): 1051–79. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.50.4.1051.Suche in Google Scholar
Dyson, T., and M. Moore. 1983. “On Kinship Structure, Female Autonomy, and Demographic Behavior in india.” Population and Development Review 9 (1): 35–60, https://doi.org/10.2307/1972894.Suche in Google Scholar
Economist. 2015. “Men-Adrift.” https://www.economist.com/essay/2015/05/28/men-adrift.Suche in Google Scholar
Ely, R. J., H. Ibarra, and D. M. Kolb. 2011. “Taking Gender into Account: Theory and Design for Women’s Leadership Development Programs.” The Academy of Management Learning and Education 10 (3): 474–93. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2010.0046.Suche in Google Scholar
Flabbi, L., M. Macis, A. Moro, and F. Schivardi. 2019. “Do Female Executives Make a Difference? the Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance.” Economic Journal 129 (622): 2390–423, https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/uez012.Suche in Google Scholar
Fortin, N. M., B. Bell, and M. Böhm. 2017. “Top Earnings Inequality and the Gender Pay Gap: Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.” Labour Economics 47: 107–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2017.05.010.Suche in Google Scholar
Fortune. 2018. “Women Fortune–500 CEO List.” https://fortune.com/2018/05/21/women-fortune-500-2018/.Suche in Google Scholar
Gagliarducci, S., and M. D. Paserman. 2014. “Gender Interactions in Firm Hierarchies: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data.” Unpublished Manuscript, March.Suche in Google Scholar
Gallup, J. L., J. D. Sachs, and A. D. Mellinger. 1999. “Geography and Economic Development.” International Regional Science Review 22 (2): 179–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/016001799761012334.Suche in Google Scholar
Green, C. P., and S. Homroy. 2018. “Female Directors, Board Committees and Firm Performance.” European Economic Review 102: 19–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2017.12.003.Suche in Google Scholar
Gunday, G., G. Ulusoy, K. Kilic, and L. Alpkan. 2011. “Effects of Innovation Types on Firm Performance.” International Journal of Production Economics 133 (2): 662–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.05.014.Suche in Google Scholar
Hardy, M., and G. Kagy. 2018. “Mind the (Profit) Gap: Why Are Female Enterprise Owners Earning Less Than Men?” AEA Papers and Proceedings 108: 252–5. https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20181025.Suche in Google Scholar
Heath, R., and X. Tan. 2020. “Intrahousehold Bargaining, Female Autonomy, and Labor Supply: Theory and Evidence from India.” Journal of the European Economic Association 18 (4): 1928–68.10.1093/jeea/jvz026Suche in Google Scholar
Heinrich, C., A. Maffioli, and G. Vazquez. 2010. “A Primer for Applying Propensity-Score Matching.” Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.10.18235/0008567Suche in Google Scholar
Hillman, A. J., C. Shropshire, and A. A. CannellaJr. 2007. “Organizational Predictors of Women on Corporate Boards.” Academy of Management Journal 50 (4): 941–52. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.26279222.Suche in Google Scholar
Kepler, E., and S. Shane. 2007. Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really that Different? Washington, D.C.: Office of Advocacy, US Small Business Administration.Suche in Google Scholar
Klapper, L. F., and S. C. Parker. 2010. “Gender and the Business Environment for New Firm Creation.” The World Bank Research Observer 26 (2): 237–57. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkp032.Suche in Google Scholar
Leuven, E., and B. Sianesi. 2003. “Psmatch2: Stata Module to Perform Full Mahalanobis and Propensity Score Matching, Common Support Graphing, and Covariate Imbalance Testing, Version 3.0.0.” http://ideas.repec.org/c/boc/bocode/s432001.html.Suche in Google Scholar
Lucifora, C., and D. Vigani. 2016. “What if Your Boss is a Woman? Work Organization, Work-Life Balance and Gender Discrimination at the Workplace.” IZA Discussion Paper.10.2139/ssrn.2732000Suche in Google Scholar
Marques, H. 2015. “Does the Gender of Top Managers and Owners Matter for Firm Exports?” Feminist Economics 21 (4): 89–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2015.1029958.Suche in Google Scholar
Matsa, D. A., and A. R. Miller. 2013. “A Female Style in Corporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 5 (3): 136–69. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.5.3.136.Suche in Google Scholar
Nordhaus, W. D. 2006. “Geography and Macroeconomics: New Data and New Findings.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103 (10): 3510–7. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0509842103.Suche in Google Scholar
Oster, E. 2017. “Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence.” Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 103 (10): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/07350015.2016.1227711.Suche in Google Scholar
Persson, T., G. Tabellini, and F. Trebbi. 2003. “Electoral Rules and Corruption.” Journal of the European Economic Association 1 (7): 958–89. https://doi.org/10.1162/154247603322493203.Suche in Google Scholar
Presbitero, A. F., R. Rabellotti, and C. Piras. 2014. “Barking up the Wrong Tree? Measuring Gender Gaps in Firm’s Access to Finance.” Journal of Development Studies 50 (10): 1430–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2014.940914.Suche in Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, P., and D. Rubin. 1983. “The Central Role of the Propensity Score in Observational Studies for Causal Effects.” Biometrika 70 (1): 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/70.1.41.Suche in Google Scholar
Sabarwal, S., and K. Terrell. 2008. “Does Gender Matter for Firm Performance? Evidence from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.” In World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, (4705). The World Bank.10.1596/1813-9450-4705Suche in Google Scholar
Sarkar, J., and E. Selarka. 2021. “Women on Board and Performance of Family Firms: Evidence from india.” Emerging Markets Review 46: 100770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2020.100770.Suche in Google Scholar
Schuh, S. C., A. S. Hernandez Bark, N. Van Quaquebeke, R. Hossiep, P. Frieg, and R. Van Dick. 2014. “Gender Differences in Leadership Role Occupancy: The Mediating Role of Power Motivation.” Journal of Business Ethics 120 (3): 363–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1663-9.Suche in Google Scholar
Sen, A. 1992. “Missing Women.” BMJ British Medical Journal 304 (6827): 587. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.304.6827.587.Suche in Google Scholar
Topalova, P., and A. Khandelwal. 2011. “Trade Liberalization and Firm Productivity: The Case of India.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 93 (3): 995–1009. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00095.Suche in Google Scholar
Wolfers, J. 2006. “Diagnosing Discrimination: Stock Returns and Ceo Gender.” Journal of the European Economic Association 4 (2–3): 531–41. https://doi.org/10.1162/jeea.2006.4.2-3.531.Suche in Google Scholar
© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Gender Differences and Firm Performance: Evidence from India
- The Effect of Soft Skills on Academic Outcomes
- Search and Matching in Political Corruption
- The New Form Agency Problem: Cooperation and Circular Agency
- Lobbying for Tariff Protection, International Technology Licensing and Consumer Surplus
- Active Labour Market Policies: What Works for the Long-Term Unemployed?
- Does Abolishing a Copayment Increase Doctor Visits? A Comparative Case Study
- An Experimental Analysis of Patient Dumping Under Different Payment Systems
- Does Excellence Pay Off? Evidence from the Italian Wine Market
- Letters
- Estimating the Socio-Economic Status of the U.S. Capitol Insurrectionists
- The Effect of Elevating the Supplemental Poverty Measure on Government Program Eligibility and Spending
- Data-Driven Health Innovation and Privacy Regulation
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Gender Differences and Firm Performance: Evidence from India
- The Effect of Soft Skills on Academic Outcomes
- Search and Matching in Political Corruption
- The New Form Agency Problem: Cooperation and Circular Agency
- Lobbying for Tariff Protection, International Technology Licensing and Consumer Surplus
- Active Labour Market Policies: What Works for the Long-Term Unemployed?
- Does Abolishing a Copayment Increase Doctor Visits? A Comparative Case Study
- An Experimental Analysis of Patient Dumping Under Different Payment Systems
- Does Excellence Pay Off? Evidence from the Italian Wine Market
- Letters
- Estimating the Socio-Economic Status of the U.S. Capitol Insurrectionists
- The Effect of Elevating the Supplemental Poverty Measure on Government Program Eligibility and Spending
- Data-Driven Health Innovation and Privacy Regulation