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Meteorological analysis of China’s policy for women’s entrepreneurship: themes, validity and prospects

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics of women’s entrepreneurship policies in China from 2009 to 2019. Survey data were collected from Chinese government departments, and content analysis and policy tool analysis were used to test the research hypotheses. The research yields the following four basic findings: (1) The policy release style is unstable, which means that the number of policies released shows an “M-type” instead of a linear growth trend; that is, the characteristic of policy issuing is not continuous growth but rather an M-shaped trend of growth, decline, regrowth, and redecline, and there is a weak discontinuity; (2) There is strong coordination between the central government and local governments; and (3) the distribution of policy topics is characterized by comprehensive diversity and regional differences. The western region shows a trend of catching up with and overtaking, but the eastern region is still in the leading position with advanced policies. (4) The distribution of policy tools shows the characteristics of imbalance. Supply-oriented and environment-oriented policy tools are used more often, while demand-oriented policy tools are used less. Therefore, this study proposes an optimization path for unscientific policy design, including promoting an orderly approach to increase the density and granularity of the policy and designing policy tools in a balanced way. More attention should be given to the inclusion of women entrepreneurs in advanced industries and removing obstacles in women’s entrepreneurship. The results can help to formulate policies scientifically and narrow the regional gap in women’s entrepreneurship policy.

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Data availability

The data come from the public policy resources of various Chinese government departments and local government websites, forming a policy database consisting of 125 policy texts for reference.

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Funding

Beijing Philosophy and Social Science Foundation “Research on Women’s Entrepreneurial Activity in Beijing as a Result of Digital Economy Development” (Project No. 22JCC090); Central Universities Basic Scientific Research Business Fund Project “Research on Women’s Political and Economic Participation in the ‘Four Histories” (Project No. ZKY201020216); Central Universities Basic Scientific Research Business Fund Project “Research on Government Support Policies, Women’s Entrepreneurship and Their Driving Mechanisms” (Project No. 2022QN0102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, China Women’s University, Beijing, China

    Xiujuan Gao

  2. College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, USA

    Sha Yang

Authors
  1. Xiujuan Gao
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  2. Sha Yang
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GX is responsible for the paper design and writing, and YS is responsible for the translation and revision.

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Correspondence to Xiujuan Gao.

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Funding has been disclosed as above. There are no employment conflicts. There are no financial or nonfinancial conflicts of interest.

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Gao, X., Yang, S. Meteorological analysis of China’s policy for women’s entrepreneurship: themes, validity and prospects. SN Soc Sci 4, 45 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00841-9

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