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on Entrepreneurship |
| By: | Hunt, Jennifer (McGill University) |
| Abstract: | Using the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates, I examine how immigrants perform relative to natives in activities likely to increase U.S. productivity, according to the type of visa on which they first entered the United States. Immigrants who first entered on a student/trainee visa or a temporary work visa have a large advantage over natives in wages, patenting, commercializing or licensing patents, and publishing. In general, this advantage is explained by immigrants’ higher education and field of study, but this is not the case for publishing, and immigrants are more likely to start companies than natives with similar education. Immigrants without U.S. education and who arrived at older ages suffer a wage handicap, which offsets savings to the United States from their having completed more education abroad. Immigrants who entered with legal permanent residence do not outperform natives for any of the outcomes considered. |
| Keywords: | immigration, innovation, entrepreneurship, visa type, wages |
| JEL: | J61 J24 |
| Date: | 2010–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4745&r=ent |
| By: | Aghion, P.; Blundell, R.; Griffith, R.; Howitt, P.; Prantl, S. |
| Abstract: | How does firm entry affect innovation incentives in incumbent firms? Microdata suggest that there is heterogeneity across industries. Specifically, incumbent productivity growth and patenting is positively correlated with lagged greenfield foreign firm entry in technologically advanced industries, but not in laggard industries. In this paper we provide evidence that these correlations arise from a causal effect predicted by Schumpeterian growth theory—the threat of technologically advanced entry spurs innovation incentives in sectors close to the technology frontier, where successful innovation allows incumbents to survive the threat, but discourages innovation in laggard sectors, where the threat reduces incumbents' expected rents from innovating. We find that the empirical patterns hold using rich micro panel data for the United Kingdom. We control for the endogeneity of entry by exploiting major European and U.K. policy reforms, and allow for endogeneity of additional factors. We complement the analysis for foreign entry with evidence for domestic entry and entry through imports. |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:ucllon:http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/15901/&r=ent |
| By: | Arvind Ashta (Centre Emile Bernheim, CERMi, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels and CEREN, Burgundy School of Business (Groupe ESC Dijon-Bourgogne), France); Sophie Raimbault (CEREN, Burgundy School of Business (Groupe ESC Dijon-Bourgogne), France) |
| Abstract: | France has a rather low rate of enterprise creation. Institutional analysis helps to explain why this is so. Nevertheless, in the last few years since 2003, France has been modernizing its legal framework to stimulate enterprise creation and this has achieved some success. A new regime of Auto-entrepreneur has recently been introduced in early 2009 as a new start up mechanism, creating a lot of buzz. This paper presents the new French regime and its accountancy and tax inputs, explaining the economic motivations of the new institution and its limitations. The paper presents results of a questionnaire administered to CEO's of small business enterprises on their perceptions of this regime. The research indicates that the entrepreneurship law is perceived to be risky for tax and social security revenues, lack of entrepreneurial capabilities, lack of social security net for failed entrepreneurs, and increased competition for small enterprises from their own employees. Future directions for research are indicated in entrepreneurship and microfinance, business regulation and globalization. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, microenterprise, microcredit, French law, socialism, capitalism, regulatory analysis. |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:09-058&r=ent |
| By: | Ciarli, Tommaso; Parto, Saeed; Savona, Maria |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the relationship between conflict and entrepreneurial activity in Afghanistan, drawing upon a unique data set, the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment household survey 2005. Afghanistan is severely underdeveloped and poor. Conflict has persisted in vast swathes of the country for decades, so that Afghanistan may be more appropriately described as an in-, rather than post-, conflict country. At the same time, qualitative (and anecdotal) evidence suggests that entrepreneurial activity is ubiquitous, although mainly due to survival strategies rather than a spirit of entrepreneurialism We empirically explore whether conflict affects the likelihood of a household to engage in entrepreneurial activity, proxied by sources of income coming from holding a small business. We control for the household characteristics and those of the environment, such as social capital, access to resources and infrastructure, as well as the presence of a minimal institutional governance system, to isolate the impact of conflict on household entrepreneurial behaviour. We find that the direct negative effect of the conflict on entrepreneurship is very small. The results on the control variables suggest that (i) the generation of entrepreneurship has seen conflict and instability for a whole life,( ii) a small business is a mean of surviving in a situation where any other support is lacking, (iii) it is a viable strategy when the household can cover some of the associated risks, (iv) there is no indirect effect of conflict via institutions and infrastructure, and (v) entrepreneurial activity may substitute for lacking markets and governance institutions. These results call for further and more in-depth research on Afghanistan as an overlooked area of study by the academic and development research community despite representing a priority for internationally supported reconstruction. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, conflict, Afghanistan, national risk vulnerability assessment |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2010-08&r=ent |
| By: | Sugato Chakravarty (Purdue University); Meifang Xiang (University of Wisconsin, Whitewater) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the cross-country determinants of profit reinvestment decisions, using data compiled by the World Bank from around 7,000 businesses in 34 countries. We find that, compared to the security of property rights, it is a firm’s access to external financing that plays a significant role in a firm’s reinvestment decision in emerging economies. The extent of private ownership and the level of competition faced by firms are additional significant factors correlated with the reinvestment decision. Furthermore, we uncover a firm size effect in that the above factors driving firm reinvestment decision appears to impact small firms more than the relatively larger firms. Our findings complement, as well as build on, those from China and a few Eastern European countries. |
| Keywords: | Reinvestment; investment; external financing; property rights; competition |
| Date: | 2010–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csr:wpaper:1001&r=ent |
| By: | Virginie Allaire (CEREN, Burgundy School of Business (Groupe ESC Dijon-Bourgogne), France); Arvind Ashta (Centre Emile Bernheim, CERMi, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels and CEREN, Burgundy School of Business (Groupe ESC Dijon-Bourgogne), France); Laurence Attuel-Mendes (CEREN, Burgundy School of Business (Groupe ESC Dijon-Bourgogne), France); Karuna Krishnaswamy |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at whether Morocco meets the usual criteria of a country where MFIs can succeed and what distinguishes Morocco from its North African neighbors (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) where a priori the culture is similar even though institutions may be different. The paper uses the similarities and differences of these five countries to identify cultural, institutional, economic and geographic factors which explain why Microfinance in particular and development in general arrives sooner in some environments than in others. The objective of the research is to identify controllable institutional factors which can be introduced in regulation to enable Microfinance to succeed in a country. We used a case study approach combined with a little bit of correlation analysis. The case study approach is the most adapted to studying small samples in more detail. The success of Microfinance is linked to population density, smallness of a country's geographical size and its poverty as well as the amount of international donor funds it has received. The availability of oil exports as revenues may lead to a delay in developing microfinance. Establishing a specific legal framework for Microfinance, such as in Morocco, may help foster the growth of Microfinance. The existence of Apex organizations for centralizing international aid and redistributing funds may in fact lead to lower donor participation since their choices are reduced and an extra level of bureaucratic costs is imposed. The results also indicate the need for a better quality database than that currently provided by the MIX. Biases may come in from the small sample size as well as from the lack of data on Libya. Future research may focus on correlation with violence, corruption, women's rights, political risk and economic sanctions. The findings would lead microfinance institutions to lobby for specific laws, more initial direct donor funding, less government apex distribution and better information databases. This kind of comparative institutional analysis has not been performed, at least for this region. |
| Keywords: | Institutional analysis, regulation, microfinance, North Africa |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:09-057&r=ent |