Female Leaders and Financial Inclusion. Evidence from Microfinance Institutions

Reidar Strøm, Bert D'Espallier and Roy Mersland
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Bert D'Espallier: Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUBrussel); Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) - Lessius University College

Working Papers from Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo Business School

Abstract: This research advances the hypothesis that female leaders (CEO, chair, and director) of a microfinance institution (MFI) give more priority to the poorest families in loan provision than male leaders. We differentiate between a depth and a width dimension of financial inclusion. The data set is a unique global panel of MFIs collected from MFI raters’ reports. Our sample is also unique in the sense that about one third of all MFIs have a female CEO. The problem of endogeneity for the female leader is resolved by running Heckman’s two-step endogenous dummy variable estimation with instrument for the female leader. We find evidence for greater depth financial inclusion (smaller average loan, more gender biased) with a female leader, but not for width financial inclusion (credit client growth). The female leaders exhibit greater altruism, greater competition avoidance, but not greater risk aversion than male peers.

Keywords: Female leadership; Financial access; Microfinance institutions; Cross-country panel data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G34 M12 M14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-02-24
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https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2737287 (text/html)

Related works:
Journal Article: Female Leaders and Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Microfinance Institutions (2023)
Working Paper: Female leaders and financial inclusion: Evidence from microfinance institutions (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oml:wpaper:201601

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2737287

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