Does regional gender inequality affect stock market participation? Evidence from China

In this article, we examine whether regional gender inequality affects a household’s decision to participate in stock market in China. Based on a nationwide micro data, our empirical results show that households in counties with greater gender inequality are less likely to hold risky assets. The results are robust to a number of variations in our empirical models. The negative effect of gender inequality on household stock market participation is stronger for households located in northern China. Moreover, we provide evidence suggestive of the role of the declined social interaction operating through gender inequality.