ABSTRACT

Poverty reduction remains a critical issue for a vast proportion of the population globally. Substantial body of literature on poverty reduction has focused on the role played by government support and charity institutions, whereas entrepreneurship as a channel for poverty reduction, and the role of gender in shaping this relationship have been under-researched, especially in the context of transition economies. Using the recent wave of the EBRD Life in Transition Survey III (2016) data, this study explores the relationship between poverty alleviation, entrepreneurship and gender. We extend the understanding of the mechanism via which entrepreneurial process is likely to contribute to poverty reduction in this region, distinguishing between self-employment and business ownership, with the latter regarded as Schumpeterian entrepreneurship. The study provides some interesting findings shedding light on the important role women play in shaping the entrepreneurship-poverty relationship.