A tale of two impacts: Entrepreneurial action and the gender-related effects of economic policy uncertainty

Abstract

The underlying intents and long-lasting impacts of economic policies are not only significant drivers of the quantity and productiveness of entrepreneurial action but also its diversity, equitability, and breadth. Calibrating policies to achieve these varied aims is a persistent challenge, due in no small part to the complex role uncertainty plays in entrepreneurship. While extant research has shown that both too much and too little uncertainty stifles entrepreneurial action, other studies have revealed that policy remedies and interventions themselves are often an important cause of uncertainty by reshaping and redefining the ‘rules of the game’ in unexpected ways. As such, the general importance of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) is well established, yet little work has been undertaken to identify and explicate its heterogenous impacts on entrepreneurial action. This gap constitutes a material hindrance to the field's ongoing efforts to better align entrepreneurship research with grand social challenges. One of these challenges relates to the long-standing impediments to gender-based fairness and equity. By investigating the differential impacts of EPU on entrepreneurial action among men and women, our findings bring to light the extent to which EPU heterogeneously shapes the experiences and outcomes of female and male entrepreneurs.