Female entrepreneurship in the U.S. 1982–2012: Implications for welfare and aggregate output

Pedro Bento

Journal of Monetary Economics, 2025, vol. 149, issue C

Abstract: The number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. has soared over the last several decades. In 1982 less than 13 percent of businesses were majority-owned by women. By 2012 this number reached 40 percent. This and other evidence suggests that women have faced significant barriers to running businesses. Interpreted through the lens of a model of entrepreneurship, observed trends imply substantial declines in several barriers facing female entrepreneurs. Together, these changes account for almost 4 percent of observed growth in aggregate output and a 3 percent increase in workers’ consumption-equivalent welfare since 1982. By 2012, lower barriers increased the welfare of female entrepreneurs by a dramatic 116 percent, while lowering the welfare of male entrepreneurs by 5 percent. These impacts are in addition to any gains to workers from declining labor-market barriers.

Keywords: Women; Entrepreneurship; Business dynamism; Misallocation; Aggregate productivity; Economic growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E02 E1 J7 O1 O4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:moneco:v:149:y:2025:i:c:s0304393224001296

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2024.103676

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