The rise of female entrepreneurs: New evidence on gender differences in liquidity constraints

In this paper, we study the importance of liquidity constraints for entrepreneurial activity, using previously unexplored data from the UK. Using inheritances as an instrument, IV estimates reveal that single women drive the overall relationship between personal wealth and the propensity to start a new business. Defining business ownership rather than self-employment as the entrepreneurial outcome measure is also shown to be critical. Using self-employment leads to selection bias and underestimates the impact of personal wealth. The results imply that efforts aimed at relieving the liquidity constraints of single women could help further accelerate the recent rise of female entrepreneurship.