Is There a Gender Bias in Crime Against Firms for Developing Economies?

The literature has typically found a positive relationship between crime rates and female headed households. Female headed households tend to indicate instability and vulnerability, and thus a positive relationship may not be surprising. This study explores the relationship between female owned firms and losses due to crime experienced by firms using data for about 12,000 firms in 27 developing countries. Although we do find a similar positive relationship between female owned firms and losses due to crime, the results may suggest that the reason may be a gender bias in the incidence of crime. We find similar results for female owned and managed firms and losses due to crime. We also find that several macro-economic factors can weaken or strengthen the relationship between crime and female ownership and management. The results are robust to various sensitivity checks.