Small and micro-enterprises are usually majority-owned by entrepreneurs. Using a unique sample of loan applications from such firms, we study the role of owners’ gender in bank credit decisions and post-credit-decision firm outcomes. We find that, ceteris paribus, female entrepreneurs are more prudent loan applicants than are males because they are less likely to apply for credit or to default after loan origination. The relatively more aggressive behavior of male applicants pays off, however, in terms of higher average firm performance after loan origination.

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性别、信用和企业成果

小微企业通常由企业家持有多数股权。使用来自此类公司的独特贷款申请样本，我们研究了所有者性别在银行信贷决策和信贷决策后公司结果中的作用。我们发现，在其他条件不变的情况下，女性企业家比男性企业家更谨慎地申请贷款，因为她们不太可能在贷款发放后申请信贷或违约。然而，男性申请人相对更激进的行为得到了回报，因为在贷款发放后公司的平均业绩更高。