This study examines the institutional factors shaping female entrepreneurship in 8 Latin American countries. Based on established classifications of institutional systems, we grouped these countries into three categories: emerging liberal market, state-led, and family-led economies. The analysis was conducted using two data panels: the first includes Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela, which primarily operate under a state-led system, while the second includes Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Peru, where state intervention is lower, and the economies follow either a family-led or emerging liberal market model. The study examines the key institutional drivers of female entrepreneurship by considering cognitive, socioeconomic, and macroeconomic variables. The findings provide a new perspective on gender-based entrepreneurship in Latin America by integrating external macroeconomic and institutional diversity factors. This framework is essential for understanding gender-specific entrepreneurial motivations.
