Gender-specific patterns in educational attainment create dual sources of talent misallocation. Using Portuguese administrative data (1995-2021), we document that women systematically underenroll in STEM fields (2.2 % vs 4.4 % for men) but overenroll in non-STEM college education (14 % vs 6.8 % for men), while men disproportionately avoid higher education altogether. These patterns, together with the underperformance of female entrepreneurs across all educational levels, generate aggregate costs to the economy. We develop a general equilibrium model where agents make endogenous educational and occupational choices, incorporating both gender-specific education costs and entrepreneurial productivity differentials. Our quantitative experiments reveal the relative importance of each distortion. Equalizing women's education costs to male levels reduces GDP by 0.9 %, as lower college participation offsets gains from increased female STEM enrollment, while just increasing men's participation in non-STEM college fields increases GDP by 2.4 %. The STEM channel does not seem quantitatively relevant, since equalizing women's participation to men only increases GDP by 0.02 %. However, equalizing entrepreneurial productivity parameters across genders increases GDP by 5.3 %, highlighting the relevance of the distortions that make female entrepreneurs underperform relative to men.
"Skilled labor and the trade-off between tangible and intangible capital"
Abstract and details coming soon.
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