Gender Gaps in Total Factor Productivity: The Case of Manufacturing SMEs in Ghana

Abstract This paper provides evidence on the relative productivity differences between female-owned and male-owned firms in a developing country. We rely on data from a survey of small and medium manufacturing firms in the main industrial hubs of Ghana. We apply quantile regression and decomposition techniques to estimate the productivity gap and identify the mechanism behind the gap at the mean and selected percentiles. Our preferred estimation shows that female-owned firms are more productive at the lower tail of productivity distribution, but less productive at the mean and upper tails. Compositional effects explain the productivity gaps at the lower end of the distribution whilst structural effects are the primary sources of gaps at the upper tail of firm productivity. Finally, we do not find evidence of productivity gaps in female-dominated sectors, though these sectors tend to have lower average productivity.