Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: B. Espen Eckbo
Author-Name-First: B. Espen
Author-Name-Last: Eckbo
Author-Workplace-Name: Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
Author-Name: Knut Nygaard
Author-Name-First: Knut
Author-Name-Last: Nygaard
Author-Workplace-Name: Oslo Business School, Oslo Akershus University College of Applied Sciences
Author-Name: Karin S. Thorburn
Author-Name-First: Karin S.
Author-Name-Last: Thorburn
Author-Workplace-Name: Norwegian School of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
Title: Does Gender-Balancing the Board Reduce Firm Value?
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.
Classification-JEL: G38
Creation-Date: 2016-02-24
File-URL: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2766471
File-Format: text/html
Keywords: Female leadership, Financial access, Microfinance institutions, Cross-country panel data
Handle: RePEc:oml:wpaper:201602