Ulrich Kaiser (University of Zurich)
will give a talk on
“Historical roots of gender norms, persistence and change: the 1981 equality vote and in women entrepreneurship in Switzerland”
Abstract: We investigate whether gender norms, measured by Switzerland’s 1981 public referendum on constitutional gender equality, influence local female startup activity today. Using startup data for all Swiss municipalities for the period 2016 to 2023, we find that municipalities more supportive of equality also have a significantly higher women-to-men startup rate; the average elasticity of this ratio with respect to the 1981 vote is 0.173 and much larger than that of the past stock of firms or childcare expenditures. This result remains robust even after controlling for a later referendum on gender roles and a wide range of municipality-specific control variables, including contemporary policy measures. Our results suggest that gender norms have persisted in Switzerland over the past four decades, despite the country having experienced mass immigration and unprecedented economic growth.
You can find Ulrich's website here: Ulrich Kaiser.
He will be available for individual meetings on Wednesday. Giulia and Yihan will coordinate the schedule.