Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Vol. 44 No. 79 (2025)

Economic policy

Female Entrepreneurship and Family Well-being in Mexico

https://doi.org/10.19053/uptc.01203053.v44.n79.2025.17955

Published 2025-03-12

  • Pablo Daniel Palacios-Duarte
    • ,
  • Jonathan Andrés Palacios-Duarte
    • ,
  • María Luisa Saavedra-García

Pablo Daniel Palacios-Duarte
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla image/svg+xml

Jonathan Andrés Palacios-Duarte
Centro de Investigaciones Sociales y Dirección Estratégica, CISDE, A. C.

María Luisa Saavedra-García
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México image/svg+xml

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the study of family entrepreneurship and gender by focusing on the well-being of women who engage in independent economic activity. The sample of 3,156 female entrepreneurs was non-probabilistic, the data were taken from the National Survey of Income and Expenditure in the Home, analyzed using the Heckman method (Heckit) and quantile regressions. Among the main findings, we can see that women and heads of households have to work almost three times harder to cover their family expenses than the opposite gender. Slightly more than 70% of the total family expenditure is on food, followed by housing and transportation, which is an aspirational reason that stimulates female entrepreneurship out of necessity. There is a lack of orientation on the use/value of education by women, which may explain the difference in the level of well-being between the two sexes.

Keywords

Business woman, Family, Well-being, Food, Basic education, Housing, Transportation

PDF (Español)

Author Biography

Pablo Daniel Palacios-Duarte

Doctor en Economía de la Empresa. Facultad de Administración, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México

Jonathan Andrés Palacios-Duarte

Candidato a doctor en administración y gestión estratégica. Centro de Investigaciones Sociales y Dirección Estratégica, CISDE, A. C.

María Luisa Saavedra-García

Dra. y Mtra. en Administración por la UNAM. Profesora Investigadora de tiempo completo de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Contaduría y Administración.

References

  1. Adamu, A. J., Nangena, M. M., & Anang, B. T. (2023). Welfare Effects of Agricultural Extension in the Sudan Savanna of Ghana. World Development Sustainability, 3, 100095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2023.100095
  2. Allin, P., & Hand, D. J. (2017). From a System of National Accounts to a Process of National Wellbeing Accounting. International Statistical Review, 85(2), 355-370. https://doi.org/10.1111/insr.12215
  3. Alwago, W. O. (2024). Decomposing the Gender Wage Gap in the Urban Labor Market in Kenya. Studia Universitatis Vasile Goldiş, Arad-Seria Ştiinţe Economice, 34(4), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.2478/sues-2024-0016
  4. Arrázola, M., & De Hevia, J. (2002). Estimación de los efectos de un" tratamiento": una aplicación a la educación superior en España. Instituto de Estudios Fiscales. https://www.ief.es/docs/destacados/publicaciones/papeles_trabajo/2002_25.pdf
  5. Arrondo-García, R., Fernández-Méndez, C., & Menéndez-Requejo, S. (2016). The Growth and Performance of Family Businessesduring the Global Financial Crisis: The Role of the Generation in Control. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 7(4), 227-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2016.11.003
  6. Arteche, J. J., & Rementería, S. (2012). La empresa familiar y el emprendimiento. Boletín de Estudios Económicos, 67(205), 145-160.
  7. Aryee, S., Srinivas, E. S., & Tan, H. H. (2005). Rhythms of life: antecedents and outcomes of work-family balance in employed parents. Journal of applied psychology, 90(1), 132. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.1.132
  8. Bastian, B. L., Metcalfe, B. D., & Zali, M. R. (2019). Gender Inequality: Entrepreneurship Development in the MENA Region. Sustainability, 11(22), 6472. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226472
  9. Berges, M. E., & Echeverría, L. (2021). Bienestar económico subjetivo: percepciones de ingresos y estándares de vida. Faces, 26(54), 9-30. https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/handle/11336/157665
  10. Blinder, A. S. (1973). Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates. Journal of Human resources, 8(4), 436-455. https://doi.org/10.2307/144855
  11. Camarena, M. E. & Saavedra, M. L. (2018). El techo de cristal en México. La Ventana: Revista de Estudios de Género, 5(47), 312-347. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=88453859009
  12. Chen, M. (2012). La economía informal: definiciones, teorías y políticas. Documento de trabajo de WIEGO n.° 1. Mujeres en Empleo Informal: Globalizando y Organizando (WIEGO).
  13. Chibbonta, D., & Chishimba, H. (2023). Effects of Microfinance Services on the Livelihoods of Marketeers in Zambia: A Case of Matero Market in Lusaka. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2266922
  14. Choi, J., & Kessler, D. (2023). Influences of Start-Up’s Financial Intermingling on Entrepreneurial Stress in Sustainable Family Businesses: Mediation Effect of Work–Family Balance. Sustainability, 15(18), 13944. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/su151813944.
  15. Choi, S. K., & Ahn, J. (2024). Gender Labor Market Outcome Differentials in Korea. Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, 65(1), 32-50. https://doi.org/10.15057/hje.2024002
  16. Colli, A. (2013). Risk, Uncertainty and Family Ownership. In P. Fernández (Ed.), The Endurance of Family Business: A Global Overview. Cambridge University Press.
  17. Costa de Arguibel, F. E., Sánchez Vargas, I. & Silva, T. E. (2023). Desigualdad en el gasto y efectos redistributivo de los impuestos: una aplicación para Argentina. Estudios Económicos, 41(82), 251-271. https://doi.org/10.52292/j.estudecon.2024.4161
  18. Danquah, M., Iddrisu, A. M., Boakye, E. O., & Owusu, S. (2021). Do Gender Wage Differences within Households Influence Women's Empowerment and Welfare? Evidence from Ghana. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, (188), 916-932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.06.014
  19. Deng, W., Liang, Q., Li, J. and Wang, W. (2021), Science Mapping: A Bibliometric Analysis of Female Entrepreneurship Studies. Gender in Management, 36(1), 61-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-12-2019-0240
  20. Diener, E. (2006). Guidelines for national indicators of subjective well-being and ill-being. Applied research in quality of life, 1(2), 151-157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-006-9007-x
  21. Donnelley, R. G. (1964). The Family Business. Harvard Business Review, 42(4), 93-105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.1988.00427.x
  22. Eslava, W. R. R., & Sáenz, R. A. C. (2022). Efectos del seguro de salud en las decisiones de gasto e inversión de las familias rurales en el Perú. Revista de Análisis y Difusión de Perspectivas Educativas y Empresariales, 2(3), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.56216/radee012022jun.a01
  23. Garfinkel, I., & Zilanawala, A. (2015). Fragile families in the American welfare state. Children and Youth Services Review, (55), 210-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.05.018
  24. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor GEM (2023). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2023/2024 Global Report: 25 Years and Growing. GEM.
  25. Gersick, K., Davis J., Hampton M., & Lansberg, I. (1997). Empresas familiares: generación a generación. McGraw-Hill.
  26. Gopinath, R., & Chitra, A. (2020). Business-Family Interface and the Capacity of Managing Challenges Faced by the Women Entrepreneurs of Informal Sector-A Relationship Study. TEST Engineering and Management, (83), 24905-24911.
  27. Heckman, J. J. (1979, January). Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error. Journal of the Econometric Society, (47), 153-161.
  28. Heckman, J. J., Tobias, J. L., & Vytlacil, E. (2000). Simple Estimators for Treatment Parameters in a Latent Variable Framework with an Application to Estimating the Returns to Schooling. Workingpaper 7950. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w7950.pdf
  29. Heckman, J., Tobias, J. L., & Vytlacil, E. (2001). Four Parameters of Interest in the Evaluation of Social Programs. Southern Economic Journal, 68(2), 211-223.
  30. Heckman, J., & Vytlacil, E. (2001). Identifying the Role of Cognitive Ability in Explaining the Level of and Change in the Return to Schooling. Review of Economics and Statistics, 83(1), 1-12.
  31. Hu, L. (2023). Household Structure and Gender Disparities in Out-of-Home Time Use. Travel Behaviour and Society, (31), 106-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2022.11.008
  32. Hudson, N. W., Lucas, R. E., & Donnellan, M. B. (2020). Are We Happier with Others? An Investigation of the Links between Spending Time with others and Subjective Well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(3), 672–694. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000290
  33. Kumar, R. K., & Dubey, A. K. (2022). Family-owned enterprises and their role in entrepreneurial development: A bibliometric and content analysis of the literature. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 16(5), 802-832. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-02-2021-0062.
  34. Love, I., Nikolaev, B., & Dhakal, C. (2024). The Well-being of Women Entrepreneurs: The Role of Gender Inequality and Gender Roles. Small Business Economics, 62(1), 325-352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00769-z
  35. Lude, M., & Prügl, R. (2019). Risky Decisions and the Family Firm Bias: An Experimental Study Based on Prospect Theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 43(2). https://doi.org/386-408. 0.1177/1042258718796078.
  36. Maloney, W. (2004, July). Informality Revisited. World Development, Elsevier, 32(7) 1159-1178.
  37. Mashapure, R., Nyagadza, B., Chikazhe, L., Mazuruse, G., & Hove, P. (2023). Women Entrepreneurship Development and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Zimbabwe. Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, 41(4), 557-584. https://doi.org/10.1108/AGJSR-07-2022-0112
  38. Mavtre, B., Whelan, C.T., & Nolan, B. (2002). Household Income Packaging in the European Union: Welfare State Income and Welfare Regime. EPAG Working Paper 35. University of Essex.
  39. Mohanty, S. K., Dubey, M., & Parida, J. K. (2014). Economic Well-being and Spending Behaviour of Households in India: Does Remittances Matter? Migration and Development, 3(1), 38-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21632324.2014.886905
  40. Montgomery, A. (2008). US Families 2025: In Search of Future Families. Futures, 40(4), 377-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2007.08.005
  41. Morrison, A. (2006). A Contextualization of Entrepreneurship. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 12(4), 192-209. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550610679159
  42. Muhammad, S., Kong, X., Saqib, S. E., & Beutell, N. J. (2021). Entrepreneurial Income and Wellbeing: Women’s Informal Entrepreneurship in a Developing Context. Sustainability, 13(18), 10262. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810262.
  43. Nichter, S., & Goldmark, L. (2009). Small Firm Growth in Developing Countries. World Development, 37(9), 1453-1464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.01.013
  44. Oaxaca, R. (1973). Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets. International Economic Review, 693-709. https://doi.org/10.2307/2525981
  45. OCDE. (2017). Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2017. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/entrepreneur_aag-2017-en.
  46. OCDE. (2018). Gender Data Portal. OECD. https://www.oecd.org/gender/data/
  47. Otero, J. V. (2012). Descomposición oaxaca-blinder en modelos lineales y no lineales. Instituto LR Klein-Centro Gauss. https://www.uam.es/uam/media/doc/1606862171313/blinder-oaxaca.pdf
  48. Otero, J. V., & Reyes, B. S. (2012). Regresión cuantílica: estimación y contrastes. Instituto LR Klein-Centro Gauss.
  49. Pomfret, G. (2021). Family Adventure Tourism: Towards Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing. Tourism Management Perspectives, (39), 100852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2021.100852
  50. Prieto, M. E. P., Luzardo, M. T. A., Paternina, L. J., & Peralta, C. M. P. (2023). Emprendimiento femenino en el departamento de Sucre-Colombia. Un enfoque de género. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia, 28(9), 248-265. https://doi.org/10.52080/rvgluz.28.e9.16
  51. Randerson, K., Dossena, G., & Fayolle, A. (2016). The Futures of Family Business: Family Entrepreneurship. Futures, (75), 36-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2015.10.008
  52. Rein, M., & Stapf-Finé, H. (2001). Income Packaging and Economic Well-being at the Income Last Stage of the Working Career. Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.
  53. Rojas, M. (2019). Well-being in Latin America: Drivers and Policies. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33498-7
  54. Rovelli, P., Ferasso, M., De Massis, A., & Kraus, S. (2021). Thirty Years of Research in Family Business Journals: Status Quo and Future Directions. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2021.100422
  55. Saavedra, M.L. & Camarena, M.E. (2015). Retos al emprendimiento femenino en América Latina. Criterio Libre, 13(22), 129-152. https://doi.org/10.18041/1900-0642/criteriolibre.2015v13n22.129
  56. Saucedo, L. K. C., García, C. H. & Estrada, R. E. L. (2020). Exclusión social, inclusión política y autoestima de jóvenes en pobreza, Monterrey, México. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 26(1), 38-50. https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v26i1.31309
  57. Shadrack, E., & Warsanga, W. B. (2020). Women Managed Micro-Enterprises and Households’ Welfare in Mirerani Mining Township, Tanzania. East African Journal of Social and Applied Sciences, 2(1), 89-99. http://41.59.211.104:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/189
  58. Suh, H., Kalai, S., Trivedi, N., Underwood, C., & Hendrickson, Z. M. (2023). Effects of Women’s Economic Empowerment Interventions on Antenatal Care Outcomes: A Systematic Review. BMJ Open, 13(3), e061693. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061693
  59. Tabares, A., Londoño-Pineda, A., Cano, J. A., & Gómez-Montoya, R. (2022). Rural Entrepreneurship: An Analysis of Current and Emerging Issues from the Sustainable Livelihood Framework. Economies MPDI, 10(6), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10060142
  60. Vijayamba, R., & Swaminathan, M. (2024). Women’s Work in Livestock Raising: Evidence from Time Use Surveys in India. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 67(3), 709-729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-024-00506-4
  61. Ward, J. L., & Aronoff, C. E. (1990). Just What is a Family Business. Nation’s Business, 78(2), 32.
  62. Węcławski, J., & Żukowska, B. (2019). Refreshing Typologies Based on Family Firms’ Goals: The Perspective of “First-Generation Enterprises”. Central European Management Journal, (27), 128-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.7206/cemj.2658-0845.6
  63. Westhead, P., & Howorth, C. (2007). ‘Types’ of Private Family Firms: An Exploratory Conceptual and Empirical Analysis. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 19(5), 405-431.
  64. Wijewardena, N., Samaratunge, R., Kumara, A. S., & Dissanayake, K. (2021). Do Entrepreneurial Business and Political Connections Lead to Greater Firm Performance? Exploring Informal-Sector Micro-Enterprises in Sri Lanka. In New Horizons in Management, Leadership and Sustainability: Innovative Case Studies and Solutions for Emerging Economies (pp. 103-126). Springer International Publishing.
  65. Wolfolds, S. E., & Siegel, J. (2019). Misaccounting for Endogeneity: The Peril of Relying on the Heckman Two‐step Method without a Valid Instrument. Strategic Management Journal, 40(3), 432-462. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2995.
  66. Wong Cam, D. E., & Chirinos Grados, M. V. (2016). ¿Los modelos basados en el CAPM valoran adecuadamente los emprendimientos familiares? Innovar, 26(61), 65-82. https://doi.org/10.15446/innovar. v26n61.57167
  67. Xu, F., Kellermanns, F. W., Jin, L., & Xi, J. (2020). Family Support as Social Exchange in Entrepreneurship: Its moderating impact on entrepreneurial stressors-well-being relationships. Journal of business research, (120), 59-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.033

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.