INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL UZBEKISTAN: AN ECONOMIC AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22146967Abstract
Women’s entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as an important mechanism for employment creation,
household income diversification, and inclusive rural economic development. Nevertheless, women entrepreneurs in rural
areas continue to face institutional, financial, infrastructural, informational, and market-related constraints. This thesis
examines the institutional factors affecting the development of women’s entrepreneurship in rural Uzbekistan, with particular
attention to the experience of women entrepreneurs in Tashkent Region. The study combines a review of international
and national evidence with an empirical analysis based on a survey of 365 women and an econometric assessment of
factors associated with entrepreneurial outcomes. The analysis considers access to finance, awareness and use of government
support programmes, market infrastructure, road accessibility, the institutional environment, and territorial characteristics.
The estimated ordinary least squares model demonstrates substantial explanatory capacity (R² = 0.676). Positive
and statistically significant territorial effects are observed for Tashkent District (β = 4.278; p < 0.01) and Qibray District (β =
3.365; p = 0.032), while the coefficient for Lower Chirchiq is positive but only weakly significant (β = 2.589; p ≈ 0.078). Distance
from the administrative centre itself is not statistically significant (β = 0.047; p = 0.346), suggesting that geographical
distance should be considered together with the quality of infrastructure, market connectivity, and institutional access. The
findings support greater emphasis on an integrated institutional support framework that combines finance, infrastructure,
information, market access, mentoring, and monitoring.
Keywords
women’s entrepreneurship, rural entrepreneurship, institutional factors, Uzbekistan, Tashkent Region, access to finance, infrastructure, OLS, inclusive development.References
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