Panel 097, sponsored byMiddle East Critique, 2012 Annual Meeting
On Monday, November 19 at 8:30 am
Panel Description
In the context of political and economic turmoil in the MENA region during 2011-2012, economists are examining the role of entrepreneurship, in particular the role of women entrepreneurs, in rebuilding economic and political wellbeing. This emphasis on entrepreneurship is not new but rather has been promoted by international organizations that have been operating in MENA countries ever since the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank adopted neo-liberal economic policies over two decades ago. As part of their policy, the World Bank and its affiliates systematically have been collecting survey data about private businesses for several years, and these data are valuable resources for understanding what kind of MENA governmental policies facilitate or hinder private sector investments. The scholarship on entrepreneurship in MENA, however, is still a relatively new arena of study. The objective of this panel is to further the academic development of entrepreneurship in MENA countries by exploring the current status of entrepreneurship generally and also to look closely at the various challenges and issues that women entrepreneurs encounter. Based on their collective research experiences in MENA, the panel members additionally will suggest ways in which women as entrepreneurs are contributing to the economic potential of the region.
The panel's initial paper provides a framing introduction through an assessment of the multiple ways that the Arab Spring has affected entrepreneurship in the MENA region and an informed prognosis of the likely impact of the continuing political and economic turmoil in several countries. Entrepreneurs had their own grievances with economic policies in countries that experienced regime change in 2011, and this paper also examines their aspirations for new economic policies that would create a more favorable environment for private investment. The second presentation focuses on how MENA governments, especially in Arab countries, regulate private businesses, with the aim of assessing whether there is a notable difference in ways officials treat male-owed and female-owned enterprises. The third paper presents a case study of female entrepreneurship in Iran. Relying on both quantitative survey data and qualitative field research interviews, the paper analyzes the challenges with which Iranian women entrepreneurs must contend in a gender-segregated society and also examines the opportunities that these entrepreneurial women see as positive inducements for investment. The final presentation provides a comparison of female entrepreneurship in Iran and Turkey.
Using a series of unique data sets collected in the period immediately preceding the Arab Spring, this paper will examine whether any discernable differences can be identified in terms of the concerns of entrepreneurs between countries that experienced regime change or on-going conflict, and those where relative stability prevailed. In recent years, the World Bank, in conjunction with the International Finance Corporation, have been conducting enterprise surveys in a number of Arab countries, which include questions about the types of barriers that entrepreneurs identify as obstacles to doing business. Questions asked include whether firms believed existing macroeconomic and tax policies, corruption and other factors were important impediments to firm functionality. An examination of these data can provide insights into the question of whether grievances of entrepreneurs may have contributed to political unrest by examining the relative emphasis that entrepreneurs in various countries placed on these issues. The data also allow one to examine how concerns of entrepreneurs vary by the size and type of firm, as well by the sex of the owner and manager of the firm in order to examine the diversity of entrepreneurs’ experiences . In addition to exploring existing data, the paper will provide some discussion of what types of economic policies various entrepreneurs are likely to advocate for, as countries emerging from Arab spring begin planning for the future, with the argument being made that it is difficult to lump all entrepreneurs into a single category, since various factors including the size and type of good being produced, and whether the firm is female owned and/or operated may play a role in shaping the types of future policies for which various groups of entrepreneurs are likely to advocate.
Despite growing female education in MENA countries, the labor force participation and employment rates of the region’s women remain quite low. A number of recent papers on the role of women in MENA economies have suggested that female entrepreneurship may contribute to greater job creation and labor force participation by women in the region. However, the progress of many MENA countries’ in this regard remains relatively limited. To understand the reasons behind this slow progress, in this paper we explore the role of government regulations in job creation by female-run (owned and managed) firms in MENA countries and contrast the results with the way regulations are applied to male-run firms. In doing so, we examine a series of hypotheses concerning the regulators motives for differential treatment of firms by the gender of the owner or manager. In particular, one view of such differential treatment is that female-run firms may be regulated more strictly due to the same forces that cause discrimination against women more broadly in MENA societies. On the other hand, an opposite view holds that female-run firms may face less harassment by the regulators because women are more likely to demand professionalism and refuse to pay bribes, hence discouraging would-be corrupt officials from engaging in malfeasance.
The empirical work in this paper is carried out based on the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey data sets. This data has been collected since early 2000s in 125 countries, including about a dozen MENA countries, with some countries having multiple surveys or panel data. Each survey in a given country and a given year offers data for more than 100 variables for several hundred firms. These data sets have been used in many studies. However, the differential regulation of firms by the gender of the owner or manager has not been examined systematically.
Empowering women through entrepreneurship has gained international attention and this paper aims to explore the nature of female entrepreneurship in Iran. In reviewing the case, it should be noted that women have become increasingly educated and have been joining the labor force in large numbers. At the same time, female unemployment has increased, especially among educated young women, and is now twice that of men’s; this is seems a fairly typical pattern for the region. It has been argued that female owned enterprises employ more women than men (World Bank 2007) and the assertion has been put to text in a survey funded by World Bank in Iran which took place in 2011 using the same questionnaire utilized in other MENA countries for comparative cross national purposes. The findings show that women in Iran have been highly present as entrepreneurs and do in fact employ more women. Moreover, they tend to be in enterprises which are highly dynamic and relay on high technology some of which is dependent on external expertise. In view of the fact that Iran is under sanctions, many have found ways to challenge some of the sanctions, nonetheless, they continue to be victims of international embargo on Iran.
The paper will highlight women’s role in the economy as entrepreneurs of large and medium as well as small firms and argues that that female entrepreneurship can act as a catalyst for combating high unemployment and create opportunities for women not just to be employed but to enter into higher ranking positions. The research result was go beyond quantitative findings and contains qualitative and field work results from different parts of Iran including Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Gillan. Ironically, qualitative field findings brings out a highly mixed picture, some have reported being a woman a major hindrance while others view no difference between themselves and their male counterparts. Interestingly, some have stated that being a female in highly male dominated professions is an advantage. Since Iran has a highly gender segregated labor market the paper will focus on some of nuances that are seemingly contradictory and explores challenges and opportunities of female entrepreneurs in the country.
