世界银行-有意识的耦合：技能干预对解决埃塞俄比亚女企业家家庭内部制约因素的影响（英）

Policy Research Working Paper11151Conscious CouplingImpact of a Skills Intervention to Address Intrahousehold Constraints for Women Entrepreneurs in EthiopiaSophia Friedson-RidenourAdiam Hagos HailemichealDumebi Ochem Sreelakshmi PapineniAfrica RegionGender Innovation LabJune 2025 A verified reproducibility package for this paper is available at http://reproducibility.worldbank.org, click here for direct access. Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedProduced by the Research Support TeamAbstractThe Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.Policy Research Working Paper 11151Husbands are often key stakeholders and influential in women’s enterprise performance. Intrahousehold con-straints and relational dynamics may contribute to a gender gap in entrepreneurship. This mixed-methods paper uses a randomized controlled trial and qualitative research to examine whether the returns to a skills intervention to women business owners are higher with a couples training. The couples training curriculum involves modelling effec-tive communication techniques between married women entrepreneurs and their husbands to help build empathy, scrutinize intrahousehold resource allocation, and encour-age greater spousal support. The findings suggest that the skills intervention increases business practices and women’s economic autonomy with treated women being 30 percent more likely to report sole decision-making power in their business. Smaller firms (defined by lower than median base-line profitability) benefit the most from the couples-based approach, earning 50 percent higher revenues and profits when trained with husbands. The channel to higher profit-ability appears to be improved negotiation skills affording women more time for their businesses, without increased marital conflict. Larger firms increase access to credit but there is no evidence of an impact on profits. The paper contributes to the evidence base on engaging men to help unleash the economic potential of women.This paper is a product of the Gender Innovation Lab, Africa Region. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at ht