Date of Graduation

Spring 5-18-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in International and Development Economics (MSIDEC)

College/School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Economics

First Advisor

Bruce Wydick

Abstract

Utilizing the power of local knowledge and peer networking, this study attempts to quantify the impacts of mentorship among female micro-entrepreneurs in Medellin, Colombia on empowerment. Developing countries such as Colombia have disproportionately high rates of unprofitable micro-businesses, many of which are managed by women. Internal constraints, such as disempowerment, play a central role in perpetuating poverty. We implement a 6-month mentoring intervention by pairing 18 successful entrepreneurs with 52 disadvantaged female, micro-entrepreneurs in Medellin, Colombia to measure the additional benefit of localized knowledge to micro-borrowers. Using a process of random assignment, I measure the change in female empowerment, measured by its impact on support, self-confidence, self-efficacy, locus of control, aspirations, and positivity among mentees. I use principal component analysis and ANCOVA analysis to measure the mentorship effect on these psychological well-being variables. I find that mentorship increases female empowerment by .71 deviations in the short-run. Treatment effects disappear in the long-run. Moderation analysis suggests that mentor-quality is an important indicator of heterogenous treatment effects.

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