The Impact of Institutional Presence Promoting Human Rights on Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This paper seeks to explain the relationship between institutional presence or absence—represented by education, healthcare access and quality, and gender equality— and social entrepreneurship. The research was conducted through a multilevel logistic regression, using a dataset consisting of 326,165 individuals from over 50 countries, and integrating variables from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Global Gender Gap Index, the Healthcare Access and Quality Index, and the Fragile States Index. While healthcare access did not have a significant impact, graduate education increases the likelihood of engaging in social entrepreneurial activities. Regarding gender equality, the study finds that higher levels of gender equality do not independently influence social entrepreneurship. However, this study provides evidence that in countries with higher gender equality, there is a positive effect on social entrepreneurship led by women. This highlights the importance of closing the gender gap to foster environments that promote the participation of women in social entrepreneurship and increase the female representation in economic activities.