If policy (half-heartedly) says 'yes', but patriarchy says 'no': How the gendered institutional context in Pakistan restricts women entrepreneurship

Many governments around the world aim to enhance entrepreneurship through different policy measures (Easterly, 2005). Empowering women to participate in entrepreneurship might help in reducing poverty (Hausmann et al., 2009). Also the Government of Pakistan (GoP) has recognized the importance of involving women into the country’s economic development. It claims to be positively committed to fostering women’s entrepreneurship and has taken various actions to promote it. While many studies have assessed measures to enhance women’s entrepreneurship in emerging economies, e.g. regarding training or financing, little attention has been paid so far to assessing the situation in Pakistan (Rehman & Azam Roomi, 2012). Evidence for how policy programmes influence entrepreneurial activities in Pakistan is also missing, as the country has a history of lacking reliable data (e.g., Ali, 2006). Yet, institutional analyses of gender-related policies are important, as institutional contexts can be a liability or asset (Welter, 2011).