Valentina Rutigliano
Education
The University of British Columbia, PhD in Finance, 2018-2024
Bachelor Bocconi University, BSc in International Economics and Finance, 2013-2016
About
Research areas: Labor Economics, Corporate Finance, Entrepreneurship
I am an applied economist with research interests in labor economics and corporate finance. My job market paper studies the impact of childbirth on women’s entrepreneurial activity, using rich administrative data from Canada.w
Research
Minding Your Business or Your Child? Motherhood and the Entrepreneurship Gap
Abstract:Women are less likely than men to start firms and female entrepreneurs are less likely to succeed. This paper studies the effect of childbirth on women’s entrepreneurial activity. Drawing on rich administrative data from Canada and using an event study and instrumental variable design, I show that childbirth has substantial negative effects on women’s founding rates and firm performance, accounting for a large portion of the gender gap in entrepreneurship. The impact spills over onto workers, who experience a decrease in earnings. The effects are permanent: entrepreneurial outcomes never recover to their pre-birth levels. The results are not due to a reduction in risk-taking and cannot be fully explained by household specialization based on labor market advantage. Childcare availability, progressive gender norms, and access to credit reduce the adverse effect of childbirth on the entrepreneurship gap.
Entrepreneurs’ Diversification and Labor Income Risk (with Jan Bena, Andrew Ellul, and Marco Pagano)
Abstract: Entrepreneurs with better diversified portfolios provide more insurance to employees against labor income risk: in a sample of over 524,000 Canadian firms and 858,000 owners, firms owned by more diversified entrepreneurs offer more stable jobs and earnings to employees when faced by idiosyncratic shocks. A one standard deviation increase in owner’s diversification reduces the shock’s pass-through rate to labor layoffs by 13% and to workers’ earnings by 41%. The data are consistent with such insurance being partly provided to retain valuable human capital and partly to avoid costly terminations. There is no evidence of insurance being priced in average wages.
Work in progress
Commodity Price Shocks and Growth in the Green Economy: Evidence from the Mining Sector
Firm Response to Demand Shocks through the Product Portfolio
Awards
- CRDCN Emerging Scholars Grant, 2024-
- Centre for Climate and Business Solutions Climate Grant, 2024
- FMA Best Paper in Corporate Finance, 2023
- CSEF/UniCredit Foundation Best Paper Award, 2023
- SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, 2020-2023
- UBC Four Year Fellowship Tuition Award, 2020–2023
- UBC President’s Academic Excellence Initiative, 2020–2023
- Montalbano Centre Development Grant, 2022
- CIDER Small Grants in Innovative Data, 2022
- Paul Chwelos Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence, 2022
- NBER Entrepreneurship Research Boot Camp, 2021
- Phillips, Hager & North Centre for Financial Research Grant, 2021
- Peter P. Dhillon Centre Research Grant, 2021
- Dean Earle D MacPhee Memorial Fellowship, 2018–2022
- Alan Kraus Scholarship, 2019
- Sauder School of Business Graduate Award, 2018
Teaching
Instructor:
- Investment Theory, 2021
Teaching Assistant:
- Corporate Finance (MBA), 2019–2024
- Investment Theory, 2018, 2019, 2022
- Introductory Finance (MBA) 2018–2020
- Advanced Corporate Finance, 2018–2020