"This paper studies the aggregate effects of the existing differences between male and female-run firms in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Using data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey and the International Labor Organization (ILO), we show that only about one-fourth of the total firms are run by women and that female-run firms are about three times smaller than male-run firms in LAC. We then extend the theoretical framework in Cuberes and Teignier (2016) to account for these facts and quantify their aggregate effects on productivity and income per capita. In our model, men and women are identical in all aspects except for the fact that some women face barriers to becoming entrepreneurs, which may be a function of their talent. The calibration of our model implies that the barriers that some women face to becoming firm managers depend positively on their managerial talent, which results in female-run firms being smaller than those managed by men in equilibrium. In our baseline simulation, we obtain an output per capita loss due to these gender gaps of 9.4 percent, all of which is due to misallocation of resources and the resulting fall in aggregate productivity. This loss is 1.3 times larger than the one obtained in a framework where barriers to entrepreneurship were assumed to be independent of talent."

"High-growth entrepreneurship has been demonstrated to be a catalyst for high socio-economic impact influence. Although just 5% to 7% of all American businesses are high-impact, these businesses create most of the new jobs in the United States. Similarly, according to a 2012 Endeavor report, high-growth entrepreneurial companies annually generate 30 more jobs than the average comparable company. High-growth entrepreneurs create jobs, inspire existing and would-be entrepreneurs to invest in their communities, and contribute to their entrepreneurial ecosystems to generate new businesses. Though each entrepreneur and each company are different, all share one thing in common: their exceptional leadership, which allows them to realize their vision and transmit their passion to their teams, investors, and communities. In the Latin American and Caribbean region, little is known about high-growth entrepreneurs and even less is known about women whose companies achieve high growth: Who are they? How did they succeed in reaching this level of growth? What motivates them? What are their biggest challenges and ambitions? What do they need to keep their businesses growing? This report aims to collect information to get to know them better and to explore common aspects of women whose businesses have experienced high levels of growth (referred to as high-growth women entrepreneurs onwards in this report)."