Belen Rodriguez Moro (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Giovanna Vallanti
This paper examines gender differences in the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship among Ph.D. graduates in Italy. Using administrative survey data, we show that entrepreneurial parents substantially increase the likelihood of entrepreneurial entry, but this effect is significantly weaker for women—especially for daughters of entrepreneurial mothers. We document that a nontrivial share of the gender gap in entrepreneurship reflects differential returns to similar family backgrounds. Exploiting province-level variation in gender norms, proxied by historical voting behavior in the 1981 abortion referendum, we find that transmission to daughters is further attenuated in more traditional environments. The results highlight how family background and local norms jointly shape gender disparities in high-skilled entrepreneurship.