Can female entrepreneurs boost social mobility in developing countries? An institutional analysis

Este artículo analiza el fenómeno de la mujer emprendedora en el turismo rural en Costa Rica, enmarcándola en el contexto latinoamericano y en el de las emprendedoras rurales. A partir de una revisión sistemática de la literatura, se define el perfil de las empresarias, sus motivaciones y las barreras que enfrentan. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto las importantes similitudes entre las emprendedoras turísticas rurales costarricenses con el resto de las emprendedoras en Latinoamérica y del mundo. Este estudio contribuye al conocimiento de las emprendedoras dentro del marco del turismo rural, esencial para el desarrollo económico del país. This article analyzes the phenomenon of entrepreneurial women in rural tourism in Costa Rica, framed within the Latin-American and rural entrepreneurship context. Using a systematic literature review, the profile of business-women gets defined through their motivations to start their businesses and the barriers they face. The results show the important similarities between Costa Rican rural tourism entrepreneurs and other female entrepreneurs in Latin America and the world. This study contributes to the knowledge of these entrepreneurs within the framework of rural tourism, essential for the economic development of developing countries.

Download Full-text

Drivers of Mobility in the Global South

10.1093/oso/9780192896858.003.0002 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 35-53

Author(s):

Patrizio Piraino

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Standard Model ◽

Developing Country ◽

Social Mobility ◽

Emerging Economies ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Global South ◽

High Income ◽

Relevant Evidence ◽

The Standard Model

Empirical studies in developing countries tend to find higher levels of socioeconomic persistence across generations compared with those of high-income economies. However, there have been relatively few advances in the identification of the drivers of such higher levels of intergenerational persistence. By focusing on relevant evidence from developing countries and emerging economies, this chapter points to some of the potential drivers of social mobility that are either outside those typically considered in high-income countries or likely to be of greater relevance in the developing world. The chapter builds on the standard model of intergenerational mobility to discuss the appropriateness of some of its assumptions in a developing-country context. It will then advance some suggestions for future theoretical and empirical investigations of social mobility in the Global South.

Download Full-text

Social Mobility in Developing Countries

10.1093/oso/9780192896858.001.0001 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Economic Development ◽

Social Mobility ◽

Economic Status ◽

Measurement Techniques ◽

Social Stability ◽

Downward Mobility ◽

The West ◽

Broad Agreement ◽

Development Context

Social mobility is the hope of economic development and the mantra of a good society. There are disagreements about what constitutes social mobility, but there is broad agreement that people should have roughly equal chances of success regardless of their economic status at birth. Concerns about rising inequality have engendered a renewed interest in social mobility—especially in the developing world. However, efforts to construct the databases and meet the standards required for conventional analyses of social mobility are at a preliminary stage and need to be complemented by innovative, conceptual, and methodological advances. If forms of mobility have slowed in the West, then we might be entering an age of rigid stratification with defined boundaries between the always-haves and the never-haves—which does not augur well for social stability. Social mobility research is ongoing, with substantive findings in different disciplines—typically with researchers in isolation from each other. A key contribution of this book is the pulling together of the emerging streams of knowledge. Generating policy-relevant knowledge is a principal concern. Three basic questions frame the study of diverse aspects of social mobility in the book. How to assess the extent of social mobility in a given development context when the datasets by conventional measurement techniques are unavailable? How to identify drivers and inhibitors of social mobility in particular developing country contexts? How to acquire the knowledge required to design interventions to raise social mobility, either by increasing upward mobility or by lowering downward mobility?

Download Full-text

Experience of Female Entrepreneurs With Disabilities in Zimbabwe

Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage - Examining the Role of Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Economies ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-5112-6.ch007 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 145-163

Author(s):

Tafadzwa Rugoho ◽

Agnes Chindimba

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

People With Disabilities ◽

Poverty Line ◽

Absolute Poverty ◽

Light Industry ◽

Female Entrepreneurs ◽

Women With Disabilities ◽

Economic Rights ◽

Formal Employment ◽

Employment Of Women

The global population of people with disabilities is estimated to be around one billion which represents 15% of the population. It is further estimated that the majority of people with disabilities are found in developing countries to which the majority are women. Adding on to the challenge, 82% percent of disabled people live below the poverty line and can barely employ sustainable means of earning a living and neither can they widen livelihood options due to their circumstances. Thus, they are languishing in absolute poverty. Developing countries are lagging behind in promoting the economic rights of women with disabilities. This is mainly shown by their absence in formal employment because many developing countries do not have policies which facilitate the employment of women with disabilities. Women with disabilities in Zimbabwe are concentrated in light industry entrepreneurship. The majority are found in vending, buying, and selling of cloth and electrical items, others are involved in cross-border trading.

Download Full-text

Entrepreneurial bricolage: crowdfunding for female entrepreneurs during COVID-19 pandemic

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies ◽

10.1108/jeee-12-2020-0464 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Edgar Alva ◽

Vanina Vivas ◽

María Urcia

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Resource Constraints ◽

Financial Resource ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Entrepreneurial Activity ◽

Growth Strategies ◽

Female Entrepreneurs ◽

New Normal ◽

Content Type ◽

Entrepreneurial Bricolage

Purpose The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented effects around the world and particularly on vulnerable populations, such as female entrepreneurs in developing countries. They are facing a new normal, characterized by high uncertainty and resource constraints. This paper aims to use the experiential learning theory applied to entrepreneurship to propose the entrepreneurial bricolage approach to study how female entrepreneurs can overcome this type of crisis. Design/methodology/approach Within the research designs of conceptual papers, the study is situated within the model approach because the authors propose novel relationships between constructs to answer the research questions through the development of theoretical propositions. Findings The analysis suggests that the entrepreneurial bricolage process represents a type of strategy that allows these women to adapt to this new normal. Based on this approach, the authors suggest that crowdfunding represents a financial resource at hand for both pre-existing female entrepreneurs and new female entrepreneurs. Practical implications The theoretical implications suggest an alternative conceptual framework of the entrepreneurial bricolage process to analyse the female entrepreneurial activity in developing countries and during crisis’ contexts. The managerial implications suggest that crowdfunding is a financial resource at hand for female entrepreneurs that allow them to perform well, innovate or implement growth strategies and have more chances of surviving and growing during the crisis. Finally, the policy implications are oriented to the promotion of this kind of financial alternative and the generation of trust for users, along with the strengthening of a regulatory framework to attract more investors and entrepreneurs. Originality/value This study provides useful information on how the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting female entrepreneurs in developing countries. It also expands on the literature on crowdfunding in terms of its advantages as a non-traditional funding source for women.

Download Full-text

Social Mobility in Developing Countries

10.1093/oso/9780192896858.003.0004 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 75-96

Author(s):

Vegard Iversen

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Social Mobility ◽

Low Income ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

Industrial Country ◽

Limited Attention ◽

International Mobility ◽

Downward Mobility ◽

Industrial Countries ◽

Country Analysis

Limited attention has been paid to how well social mobility measures developed and used to study industrial countries perform in analysis of low-income settings. Following brief, selective reviews of the axiomatic, econometric and other relevant literature, three mobility concepts illustrate how properties that appear innocuous in industrial country analysis become problematic when downward mobility includes descents into destitution. For origin-independence measures—the most widely used in research on developing countries so far—axiomatic propriety and cognizance of co-residency-induced and other estimation bias are not enough. Adopting a variant of the ‘perverse fluidity’ concept from sociology to define the estimate bias attributable to intergenerational descents into poverty, we use experiments and data from India to find perverse fluidity biases in intergenerational mobility estimates of up to 50 per cent. Seemingly ‘good’ mobility news may thus be ‘bad’ with intergroup, regional and international mobility comparisons more precarious than acknowledged so far.

Download Full-text

Future of Egyptian female entrepreneurs post COVID-19

World Journal of Entrepreneurship Management and Sustainable Development ◽

10.1108/wjemsd-07-2020-0094 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Doaa M. Salman Abdou

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Labour Force ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Female Entrepreneurs ◽

Female Participation ◽

Content Type ◽

Accelerate Development ◽

Entrepreneurial Activities ◽

The Impact

PurposeCurrently, COVID-19 delayed economic growth and forced many businesses to shut down. Both formal and informal entrepreneurs are trying to develop a way out to survive. To measure the impact of the current crisis it is important to consider that many females are unrecorded in the formal market due to their secondary jobs as housewives. This paper explores some of the determinants that contribute in the acceleration of the Egyptian female entrepreneurs (EFEs) to participate in the labour force.Design/methodology/approachThe Dynamic model can determine the link between EG and Egyptian female labour force participation (EFLFP) for the period between 1990 and 2019. The cointegration test provides an insight on the future path of the relation and the significant role of EFEs in the labour market.FindingsThe outcomes point out the existence of a positive significant impact by the EG on the EFLFP and a fluctuating relation between fertility rates and the EFLFP. The results support the literature and highlight the current challenges, as the EFLFP is minute due to the increase of EG. Taking into consideration that many female activities are unrecorded and official statistics only counts the monetarist economic activities and does not include the secondary and mandatory activities – delivered at house. Results provide guidance on setting the required strategies and policies to survive after the corona crisis.Research limitations/implicationsThe study cover only the time interval during 1990 and 2020. No available data before this interval.Practical implicationsEgyptian entrepreneurs is challenged with numerous obstacles difficulties such as lack of experience, shortages of finance, marketing channels and finally the pandemic. On ground many entrepreneurs depend on starting their business using a bootstrapping approach to overcome such obstacles and focuses on primary activities. In developing countries the importance role of female entrepreneurs needs to be disseminated as they can function efficiently from home and can balance between house commitment and the country commitments. Using technology can help in measure the female participation and foster their education to enter entrepreneurial activities and accelerate development and growth.Social implicationsIn developing countries the importance role of female entrepreneurs needs to be disseminated as they can function efficiently from home and can balance between house commitment and the country commitments. Using technology can help in measure the female participation and foster their education to enter entrepreneurial activities and accelerate development and growth.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to the new stream of empirical analysis that provides evidence of the role of EFEs in one of the highest population developing countries (Egypt) during the time of corona virus. Also, shows the impact of COVID-19 that forced EFEs to develop micro-businesses. Results point out to the minor role of EFEs in the formal economic activities and provide an insight on the required regulations and policies to accelerate EFEs. Female activities in the informal market that are unmeasured lead to underestimating the female contribution. As well, the indirect role of female at house is not included in the data.

Download Full-text

Assessing the Environmental and Social Obstacles to Women Entrepreneurs

Women Empowerment and Well-Being for Inclusive Economic Growth - Advances in Religious and Cultural Studies ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-3737-4.ch006 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 90-105

Author(s):

Nazima Elahi ◽

Qaisar Ali Malik

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Well Being ◽

Primary Data ◽

Social Entrepreneurs ◽

Access To Finance ◽

Female Entrepreneurship ◽

Female Entrepreneurs ◽

Entrepreneurship Development ◽

The Social ◽

Major Factors

Economic development is an ultimate goal of developing countries and utilization of human capital to achieve this goal is accepted vital globally. Entrepreneurship, recognized as a central force to bring economic growth, needs more women to be involved in this context. Studies on female-entrepreneurs are missing for developing countries, especially in the context of Pakistan. Therefore, this study is aimed to find the social and environmental factors acting as hindrance to female-entrepreneurship development in Pakistan. Primary data is collected from five major divisions of Pakistan involving 200 social entrepreneurs engaged in running their businesses and contributing towards the social well-being of society. The findings highlighting the major environmental and social factors are generalized and presented against each division in results section. It is concluded that access to finance, social norms, lack of adequate infrastructure, registration facilities, access to marketing, and acknowledgment are among the major factors, which deter their entrepreneurship development.

Download Full-text