Does foreign direct investment matter for female entrepreneurship? Spatial interaction and business creation

This study explores the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) in fueling the rate of female entrepreneurship at the local level. Our study focuses on Spanish data at the provincial level over a complete business cycle (2005–2016). The fostering effect stems from the presence of spatial externalities between FDI stock in a province and the growth rate of women-owned enterprises in that province. Our results not only confirm the positive association between the density of FDI stock and female entrepreneurship, but also provide evidence of the extent to which homophily can strengthen this effect. Finally, the spatial setting enables the quantification of spillover effects both within each spatial unit and across units.

Nicolini, R. and A. Gómez-Tello (2026). «Does foreign direct investment matter for female entrepreneurship? Spatial interaction and business creation»». Working Paper (Departament d’Economia Aplicada) n.º 09.26. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 36 pp.