Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Executive Summary -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Men and Women in Bolivia's Informal Sector -- Trends in Informality and Female Employment -- Factors Shaping Gender Labor Force Trends: Domestic Pressures, Education, Regulation -- Ethnicity, Education, and Informality: Compound Effects -- Why Gender Matters in the Bolivian Labor Market -- Gender, Formality, and Profitability -- Gender-Based Differences in the Formality of Businesses -- Gender-Based Differences in Profitability -- Why Female-Owned Firms Are More Informal and Less Profitable -- Conclusions on Gender-Based Differences in Formality and Profitability -- Gender-Specific Constraints to Productivity -- Male and Female Views on Productivity Constraints -- Gender-Based Constraints in Access to Productive Assets -- Market and Home-Based Constraints to Women's Economic Productivity -- Implications of Policies to Increase the Formalization and Productivity of Female Owners of Small and Micro Firms -- Promoting Women's Access to Productive Assets -- Providing an Enabling Environment for Women's Entrepreneurship -- References -- Appendixes -- Appendix 1. Estimation Methods -- Appendix 2. Do the Factors That Affect Formality Vary by Gender? -- Appendix 3. Does the Impact of a NIT (and Other Factors) on Profits Vary by Gender? -- Appendix 4. Interest Rates for Microcredit Institutions in Latin America (June 2005) -- Appendix 5. Mutually Reinforcing Constraints on Female Micro Enterprises -- Back cover.

Bolivia's informal economic sector is the largest in Latin America, and women-owned businesses tend to be overrepresented in the informal sector and to be less profitable than firms in the formal sector. This study seeks to better understand gender-based differences in firms' tendencies toward formality, the impact of formality on profits, and the productivity of small informal firms. Using data from firm surveys, national household surveys, and qualitative data from focus groups, the study conducts a gender analysis of formality and productivity in six different sectors in Bolivia. The findings shed new light on how gender-based differences contribute to a firm's decision to become formal and the consequences of this decision for profitability. The outcomes of the study suggest that policies should focus on increasing the productivity and scale of women-owned businesses. Two general priorities emerge: promoting women's access to productive assets to facilitate growth and productivity and providing an enabling environment for women's entrepreneurship by expanding women's choices and capacity to respond to market opportunities.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.