|
on Entrepreneurship |
|
Issue of 2014‒06‒02
thirty papers chosen by Marcus Dejardin University of Namur and Universite' Catholique de Louvain |
| By: | Lerner, Josh |
| Abstract: | Since the 2008-09 global financial crises, interest among policy makers in promoting innovative, ventures has exploded. The emerging great hubs of entrepreneurial activity, like Bangalore, Dubai, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, and Tel Aviv, bear the unmistakable stamp of the public sector. Enlightened government intervention played a key role in each region's emergence. But for each effective government intervention, dozens, even hundreds, disappointed, with substantial public spending bearing no fruit. This paper sheds light on how governments can avoid mistakes in stimulating entrepreneurship. In recent decades, efforts have increased to provide the world's poorest with financing and other assistance to facilitate their entry into entrepreneurship or the growth of their small ventures. These are typically subsistence businesses offering services like snack preparation or clothing repair. Such businesses typically allow business owners and their families to get by, but little else. The public policy literature, along with academic studies of new ventures, often does not distinguish among the types of businesses being studied. The author will focus here exclusively on high-potential new ventures and the policies that enhance them. This choice, not intended to diminish the importance of efforts to boost microenterprises, reflects the complexity of the field: the dynamics and issues involving micro firmsare quite different from those of their high-potential counterparts. A substantial literature suggests that promising entrepreneurial firms can have a powerful effect in transforming industries and promoting innovation. |
| Keywords: | Microfinance,Debt Markets,Emerging Markets,Investment and Investment Climate,Small Scale Enterprise |
| Date: | 2014–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6880&r=ent |
| By: | Dahl, Michael S. (Aalborg University); van Praag, Mirjam (Copenhagen Business School); Thompson, Peter (Georgia Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | We study possible motivations for co-entrepreneurial couples to start up a joint firm, using a sample of 1,069 Danish couples that established a joint enterprise between 2001 and 2010. We compare their pre-entry characteristics, firm performance and post-dissolution private and financial outcomes with a selected set of comparable firms and couples. We find evidence that couples often establish a business together because one spouse – most commonly the female – has limited outside opportunities in the labor market. However, the financial benefits for each of the spouses, and especially the female, are larger in co-entrepreneurial firms, both during the life of the business and post-dissolution. The start-up of co-entrepreneurial firms seems therefore a sound in-vestment in the human capital of both spouses as well as in the reduction of income inequality in the household. We find no evidence of non-pecuniary benefits or costs of co-entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, motives, performance, couples, co-entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | J12 L26 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8186&r=ent |
| By: | Behrens, Kristian; Pokrovsky, Dmitry; Zhelobodko, Evgeny |
| Abstract: | We develop a monopolistic competition model with two sectors and heterogeneous agents who self-select into entrepreneurship, depending on entrepreneurial ability. The effect of market size on the equilibrium share of entrepreneurs crucially hinges on properties of the lower-tier utility function for differentiated varieties – its elasticity of substitution and its Arrow-Pratt index of relative risk aversion. We show that the share of entrepreneurs, and the cutoff for self-selection into entrepreneurship, can increase or decrease with market size. The properties of the underlying ability distribution largely determine how income inequality changes with market size. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; heterogeneous agents; income inequality; market size; monopolistic competition |
| JEL: | D31 D43 L11 L26 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9831&r=ent |
| By: | Brixiova, Zuzana (African Development Bank); Ncube, Mthuli (African Development Bank); Bicaba, Zorobabel (African Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | The shortages of entrepreneurial skills have lowered search effectiveness of potential young entrepreneurs and the rate of youth start-ups. Our paper contributes to closing a gap in the entrepreneurship and development literature with a model of costly firm creation and skill differences between young and adult entrepreneurs. The model shows that for young entrepreneurs facing high costs of searching for business opportunities, support for training is more effective in stimulating productive start-ups than subsidies. The case for interventions targeted at youth rises in societies with high costs of youth unemployment. We test the role of skills and training for productive youth entrepreneurship on data from a recent survey of entrepreneurs in Swaziland. |
| Keywords: | youth entrepreneurship, model of skills and structural transformation, policies, Africa |
| JEL: | J11 J08 L26 O11 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8192&r=ent |
| By: | Jonathan Bainée (UEA - Unité d'Économie Appliquée - ENSTA ParisTech, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship and, thus, small- and middlesized firms (SMEs) have had a growing interest for the past two decades, from the academic world as well as from public authorities. This interest is part of many economic changes. In particular, technological change and the increasing incidence of innovation in most developed countries have reduced the importance of the size of the companies in the industry and favored the development of entrepreneurial activities. In addition, globalization would have dragged the comparative advantages of North American and European countries toward knowledge-based activities, while the "knowledge-based economy" would be relatively more conducive to entrepreneurship and to SMEs. The issues in terms of ability to manage the creation, transition, and business development are primordial, both in their qualitative and quantitative dimension. It is in this context, conducive to new needs of knowledge, that emerge entrepreneurship teachings designed to inspire and enable individuals to start and to grow entrepreneurial ventures. They can be addressed in two steps. First, a historical approach will show how teachings in entrepreneurship have evolved in their implementation based on a double dynamic of empowerment and "complication" of training programs in entrepreneurship, which seems structured around the controversy over the ability to learn to undertake business or initiate the risk culture. Second, practical teaching methods of entrepreneurship will be analyzed, making sure to highlight the multifaceted reality of innovative approaches and actions through an international benchmark conducted by the PIMREP (ParisTech Innovation Management Research and Education Program) network (PIMREP 2010, 2011) |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneuriat ; management de l'innovation ; enseignements ; Eco-système |
| Date: | 2013–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-00980385&r=ent |
| By: | Rachel Kurian (Assistant Professor, International Labour Economics, Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper is a contribution to this field of knowledge of female migrant entrepreneurship, an occupation that continues to be taken up a relatively small group of women. It considers the experiences of ‘successful’ businesswomen from the Surinamese community in and around The Hague, and identifies ‘best practices’ that optimised the development and management of their enterprises.2 The paper pays special attention to the ways in which ethnicity and gender influenced these practices, as well as the women’s own perception of their success. When analysing the experiences of migrant women entrepreneurs, the paper considers two important questions put forward by Baycan-Levent in her study on “Migrant Female Entrepreneurship in OECD countries” (2010). Where these women, in the main, ethnic entrepreneurs or women entrepreneurs? Did the fact that they were migrant and female entrepreneurs mean that they had to overcome “double barriers or, whether in fact were they exposed to more opportunities?” (2010:229). Based on these discussions, the paper puts forward priorities for government policies and policies and programmes to support the female immigrant entrepreneurship and promote these ‘best practices’. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/13&r=ent |
| By: | Danakol, Seçil Hülya; Estrin, Saul; Reynolds, Paul; Weitzel, Utz |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effects of foreign direct investment, measured by mergers and acquisitions, on domestic entrepreneurial entry. We use a micro-panel of more than two thousand individuals disaggregated by industry in seventy countries including both developed and developing economies, 2000-2009. The theory yields ambiguous predictions about the relationship between FDI and entrepreneurship; positive spillovers via dissemination of technology or negative because of crowding out. Our empirical analysis is conducted at three levels of aggregation. We find the relationship between FDI and domestic entrepreneurship in aggregate and intra-industry to be negative. Policies need to consider how to counteract this effect. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; foreign direct investment; new firm entry; spillovers |
| JEL: | F23 L26 M13 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9793&r=ent |
| By: | Fons Trompenaars (Hampden-Turner, Amsterdam, The Netherlands); Madeleine van der Steege (Synquity, Warmond, The Netherlands); Riana Schreuders (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, The Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | Although female entrepreneurship is more frequently considered a key driver in economic growth and development, there is a gap in our understanding of the actual challenges and dilemmas that are faced and overcome by successful women entrepreneurs. Research in this field is lacking, often highly academic and does not contribute to practical/systemic or policy changes to support women’s entrepreneurship development. The purpose of this paper is to provide preliminary findings from a pilot study exploring the critical dilemmas and enablers for success faced by women entrepreneurs. Using a dilemma theory orientation, entrepreneurial success was investigated in terms of how respondents reconcile the competing demands between core stakeholders. Through our collaborative approach to the research, we were able to test existing models of entrepreneurship and also generate new insights for further investigation. It seems that women have a ‘gestalt’ view on the world, which enables them to identify opportunities in the environment through a values-based, socially responsible approach, which is aimed at generating greater gains than pure financial turnover in the long run. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; women; dilemmas, economic growth |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/10&r=ent |
| By: | Fulvia Farinelli (UNCTAD, Division on Investment and Enterprise Development) |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/17&r=ent |
| By: | Batista, Catia (Universidade Nova de Lisboa); McIndoe Calder, Tara (Central Bank of Ireland); Vicente, Pedro C. (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) |
| Abstract: | Does return migration affect entrepreneurship? This question has important implications for the debate on the economic development effects of migration for origin countries. The existing literature has, however, not addressed how the estimation of the impact of return migration on entrepreneurship is affected by double unobservable migrant self-selection, both at the initial outward migration and at the final inward return migration stages. This paper uses a representative household survey conducted in Mozambique in order to address this research question. We exploit variation provided by displacement caused by civil war in Mozambique, as well as social unrest and other shocks in migrant destination countries. The results lend support to negative unobservable self-selection at both and each of the initial and return stages of migration, which results in an under-estimation of the effects of return migration on entrepreneurial outcomes when using a 'naïve' estimator not controlling for self-selection. Indeed, 'naïve' estimates point to a 13 pp increase in the probability of owning a business when there is a return migrant in the household relative to non-migrants only, whereas excluding the double effect of unobservable self-selection, this effect becomes significantly larger – between 24 pp and 29 pp, depending on the method of estimation and source of variation used. |
| Keywords: | international migration, return migration, entrepreneurship, self-selection, business ownership, migration effects in origin countries, household survey, Mozambique, sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | F22 L26 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8195&r=ent |
| By: | Haataja Vera (PhD Candidate, Aalto University) |
| Abstract: | The paper undertakes a systematic review of the literature on empowerment in entrepreneurship research. The overall purpose of the paper is to create a better understanding of what empowerment is and what constitutes it. The literature review reveals that there is lack of clear definition even though it is widely used concept. Many development initiatives aim to “empower” poor people by offering them means to become entrepreneurs. Yet, there is no coherent understanding of what really empowers the people and what the role of entrepreneurship is in the process. Hence, this paper aims to fill that gap by conceptualizing “entrepreneurial empowerment” in order to clarify the connections between empowerment and entrepreneurial activity. The study builds on the empowerment discussion in the ‘entrepreneurship under poverty conditions’ literature. Findings suggest that contradictory to development organizations’ thinking empowerment cannot be bestowed by a third party. It is a process that starts from people becoming aware of their own interests and capabilities. Furthermore, empowerment alone does not guarantee poverty relief. Thus, entrepreneurial activity should strive to rise above subsistence level. Hence, this research contributes to the scarce literature on entrepreneurship in poverty and development aid discussion. Moreover, the research has implications for policy makers and development aid actors providing suggestions on how to support entrepreneurial activity of the impoverished people and more effective and meaningful way of designing development programs. The paper is structured as follows; First part presents the background of the study and general ideas about empowerment. The second section argues the selection of the method and explains the process how the systematic literature review was conducted in this study. Furthermore the emerged themes are identified. Third part discusses the empowerment in entrepreneurship literature. Finally some concluding thoughts are presented. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/16&r=ent |
| By: | Alicia M. Robb, Ph.D (Lecturer at Utrecht University) |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/19&r=ent |
| By: | Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | Theoretical models of entrepreneurship posit that attitudes toward risk, entrepreneurial ability, and preferences for autonomy are central to the individual's decision between self-employment and wage/salary work. None of the studies in the rapidly growing empirical literature on entrepreneurship, however, have been able to test whether these factors are important determinants of self-employment. I provide indirect evidence on this hypothesis by examining the relationship between drug dealing and legitimate self-employment. A review of ethnographic studies in the criminology literature indicates that drug dealing may represent a useful proxy for low risk aversion, entrepreneurial ability, and a preference for autonomy.            The 1980 wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) contained a special section on participation in illegal activities, including questions on selling marijuana and other "hard" drugs. I use the answers to these questions and data from subsequent years of the NLSY to examine the relationship between drug dealing as a youth and legitimate self-employment in later years. Using various definitions of drug dealing and specifications of the econometric model, I find that drug dealers are 11 to 21 percent more likely to choose self-employment than non drug dealers, all else equal. I also find that drug dealers who sold more frequently, used drugs less frequently, or reported receiving income from drug dealing are more likely to choose self-employment than other drug dealers. After ruling out a few alternative explanations, I interpret these results as providing indirect evidence that risk aversion, entrepreneurial ability, and preferences for autonomy are important determinants of self-employment. Theoretical models of entrepreneurship posit that attitudes toward risk, entrepreneurial ability, and preferences for autonomy are central to the individual's decision between self-employment and wage/salary work. None of the studies in the rapidly growing empirical literature on entrepreneurship, however, have been able to test whether these factors are important determinants of self-employment. I provide indirect evidence on this hypothesis by examining the relationship between drug dealing and legitimate self-employment. A review of ethnographic studies in the criminology literature indicates that drug dealing may represent a useful proxy for low risk aversion, entrepreneurial ability, and a preference for autonomy.            The 1980 wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) contained a special section on participation in illegal activities, including questions on selling marijuana and other "hard" drugs. I use the answers to these questions and data from subsequent years of the NLSY to examine the relationship between drug dealing as a youth and legitimate self-employment in later years. Using various definitions of drug dealing and specifications of the econometric model, I find that drug dealers are 11 to 21 percent more likely to choose self-employment than non drug dealers, all else equal. I also find that drug dealers who sold more frequently, used drugs less frequently, or reported receiving income from drug dealing are more likely to choose self-employment than other drug dealers. After ruling out a few alternative explanations, I interpret these results as providing indirect evidence that risk aversion, entrepreneurial ability, and preferences for autonomy are important determinants of self-employment. |
| Keywords: | Business, entrepreneurship, crime, drug dealing, business ownership, self-employment, labor |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt3p38k7c8&r=ent |
| By: | Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | We show that entrepreneurship rates differ substantially across 60 ethnic and racial groups in the United States. These differences exist within broad combinations of groups such as Asians and Hispanics, and are almost as great after regression controls, including age, education, immigrant status, and time in the country. We then provide evidence on a number of theories of entrepreneurship. An ethnic/racial group's self-employment rate is positively associated with the difference between average self-employment and wage/salary earnings for that group. Ethnic/racial groups which immigrate from countries with high business ownership rates do not have high business ownership rates in the U.S. Finally, we find that the more advantaged ethnic/racial groups, measured by wage/salary earnings, self-employment earnings, and unearned income, and not the more disadvantaged groups, have the highest self-employment rates. |
| Keywords: | Business, entrepreneurship, inequality, race, immigration, business ownership, self-employment, labor |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt24p7v6gc&r=ent |
| By: | Jason P. Davis (INSEAD); Yulia Muzyrya (University of Michigan); Pai-Ling Yin (Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | Although experimentation is critical to the innovation process in startups, little research has explored the link between different experimentation strategies and entrepreneurial innovation. We use unique data on experimentation strategies and innovation outcomes of firms producing iPhone applications to show that the appropriateness of different strategies depends on market characteristics. Simultaneous experimentation strategies are better suited to markets characterized by strong market inheritance, where innovative know-how, development technologies, and heterogeneous preferences from established markets can be leveraged by entrepreneurs. In markets with fewer skills, fewer developmental technologies, and less understood demand expectations, innovations are more likely to result from sequential product improvements based on customer feedback, allowing the entrepreneur to develop skills and clarify what may be singular customer preferences |
| Keywords: | Keywords: Entrepreneur; Innovation; Technology; Strategy; Mobile Apps |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sip:dpaper:13-029&r=ent |
| By: | Prof dr Erik Stam; Felix Meier zu Selhausen, MSc MA (PhD Candidate, Utrecht University) |
| Abstract: | Participation in microfinance and in production cooperatives has been identified as a means to improve income and empower female entrepreneurs in developing economies. This study on female entrepreneurs in Western Uganda tests how participation of the husband in the same microfinance cooperative affects gender empowerment. Participation by female entrepreneurs in a microfinance cooperative turns out not to be an unconditional blessing: even though it does deliver higher household incomes, it also deteriorates the female’s household decision-making power when her husband participates in the same self-help group of the microfinance cooperative. This offers new insights for development policy and for entrepreneurship scholars to study the bright and dark sides of microfinance. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/20&r=ent |
| By: | Saskia Vossenberg (Consultant Gender and Women's Political Empowerment, NIMD | Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy; External Research fellow 'Women and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries', Maastricht School of Management; Program manager 'Women's Entrepreneurship Promotion', Maastricht School of Management) |
| Abstract: | How can we move the debate beyond feminist critique and present policy-makers and development practitioners with premises for entrepreneurship promotion in its attempt to overcome issues of gender inequality in economic growth and development? Feminist epistemologies can offer a set of conceptual advances and tools of analysis to define goals, problems and solutions for entrepreneurship promotion. By means of a literature review it is argued that a critical realist approach, as found in standpoint feminism, provides a strong basis for thinking through feminist concerns about entrepreneurship promotion. Consequently, four premises for feminist driven entrepreneurship promotion are presented. |
| Keywords: | feminist theory, female entrepreneurship, developing countries, entrepreneurship promotion, policy. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/14&r=ent |
| By: | Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | Using Current Population Survey (CPS) microdata, I examine trends and the causes of the trends from1979 to 1998 in entrepreneurship among several ethnic/racial groups in the United States. I find rapid growth rates for the number of self-employed blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans relative to whites over the past decade or two. I find that the rapid growth rates were primarily due to expansions in the labor force for these groups. With the exception of female rates in the 1980s, trends in business ownership rates were fairly flat over the past two decades. There were, however, important differences across groups in changes in self-employment rates over the past decade or two. I use a dynamic decomposition technique to explore the causes of these differential trends and find some interesting patterns. For example, I find that increasing levels of education and relative declines in the age distribution of the workforce for some minority groups contributed to increasing racial gaps in self-employment. |
| Keywords: | Business, entrepreneurship, inequality, race, business ownership, self-employment, labor |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt1b44c0mk&r=ent |
| By: | Chiara Criscuolo; Peter N. Gal; Carlo Menon |
| Abstract: | Motivated by the ongoing interest of policy makers in the sources of job creation, this paper presents results from a new OECD project on the dynamics of employment (DynEmp) based on an innovative methodology using firm-level data (i.e. national business registers or similar sources). It demonstrates that among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), young firms play a central role in creating jobs, whereas old SMEs tend to destroy jobs. This pattern holds robustly across 17 OECD countries and Brazil, extending recent evidence found in the United States. The paper also shows that young firms are always net job creators throughout the business cycle, even during the financial crisis. During the crisis, entry and post-entry growth by young firms were affected most heavily, although downsizing by old firms was responsible for most job losses. The results also highlight large cross-country differences in the growth potential of young firms, pointing to the role played by national policies in enabling successful firms to create jobs. |
| Date: | 2014–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stiaac:14-en&r=ent |
| By: | Grimm, Michael (University of Passau); Paffhausen, Anna Luisa (University of Passau) |
| Abstract: | Worldwide 600 million jobs are needed over the next 15 years to keep employment rates at their current level. Governments, non-governmental organizations and donors spend on targeted programs and broader policies to enhance employment creation and the creation of new firms. Because most employment in low and middle income countries is in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, these firms are especially targeted by such interventions. Despite these efforts, not much is known about which of these interventions are really effective and under which conditions particular interventions work. This systematic review synthesizes the existing evidence on the impact of these programs. Overall the review shows that creating employment is a very complex challenge. Many conditions have to be met before interventions in favor of individual enterprises do not only improve business practices and performance but also lead to additional jobs. A striking finding is that the study design matters for the impacts found; randomized controlled trials find systematically smaller effects than quasi-experimental studies. A significant shortcoming of the literature is that almost nothing is known about long term effects and cost effectiveness. |
| Keywords: | employment, active labor market policy, firm creation, micro, small and medium sized firms, impact evaluations, systematic review |
| JEL: | D22 G21 J21 O10 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8193&r=ent |
| By: | Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | A rapidly growing literature examines the impact of immigrants on the labor market outcomes of native-born Americans. However, the impact of immigration on natives in entrepreneurship has not been examined, despite the over-representation of immigrants in that sector and theoretical reasons why the impact might be greater for the self-employed. We first present a new general equilibrium model of self-employment and wage/salary work. For a range of plausible parameter values, the model predicts small negative effects of immigration on native self-employment rates and earnings. Using 1980 and 1990 Census microdata, we then examine the relationship between changes in immigration and native self-employment rates and earnings across 132 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. We find evidence supporting the hypothesis that self-employed immigrants displace self-employed natives. The effects are much larger than those predicted by simulations of the theoretical model. Immigrants, however, do not have a negative effect on native self-employment earnings. Our findings are similar if we weight immigration rates by the propensity of immigrant groups to be self-employed or if we try alternative estimation techniques and specifications. A rapidly growing literature examines the impact of immigrants on the labor market outcomes of native-born Americans. However, the impact of immigration on natives in entrepreneurship has not been examined, despite the over-representation of immigrants in that sector and theoretical reasons why the impact might be greater for the self-employed. We first present a new general equilibrium model of self-employment and wage/salary work. For a range of plausible parameter values, the model predicts small negative effects of immigration on native self-employment rates and earnings. Using 1980 and 1990 Census microdata, we then examine the relationship between changes in immigration and native self-employment rates and earnings across 132 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. We find evidence supporting the hypothesis that self-employed immigrants displace self-employed natives. The effects are much larger than those predicted by simulations of the theoretical model. Immigrants, however, do not have a negative effect on native self-employment earnings. Our findings are similar if we weight immigration rates by the propensity of immigrant groups to be self-employed or if we try alternative estimation techniques and specifications. |
| Keywords: | Business, entrepreneurship, inequality, immigration, business ownership, self-employment, labor |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt7bq2h9rh&r=ent |
| By: | Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | We examine trends in entrepreneurship among white and black men from 1910 to 1990 using Census and CPS microdata. Self-employment rates fell over most of the century and then started to rise after 1970. For white men, we find that the decline was due to declining rates within industries, but was counterbalanced somewhat by a shift in employment towards high self-employment industries. Recently, the increase in business ownership was caused by an end to the within industry decline and the continuing shift in employment towards high self-employment industries. We also find that social security benefits, and immigration patterns do not explain the recent upturn in self-employment. For black men, we find that the self-employment rate remained at a level of roughly one-third the white rate from 1910 to 1990. The large and constant gap between the black and the white rates is not due to blacks being concentrated in low self-employment rate industries. We also find that absent continuing forces holding down black self-employment, a simple inter-generational model of self-employment suggests that black and white rates would converge quickly. |
| Keywords: | Business, entrepreneurship, inequality, race, business ownership, self-employment, labor |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt7pf033tn&r=ent |
| By: | Atsede Tesfaye Hailemariam (Tilburg University, The Netherlands and Addis Ababa University – School of Commerce, Ethiopia); Brigitte Kroon (Tilburg University, The Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | This paper describes how women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia define success in their own terms. Semi structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 women entrepreneurs from various sectors in Addis Ababa. The interview formats allowed the women to tell their life history and define success in their own terms. A common stereotype is that women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia operate businesses out of necessity and therefore women measure success in terms of financial rewards than personal rewards. Despite this stereotype, the findings of this study show that differences in definition of success exist among group of women entrepreneurs. Differences are in background characteristics, socialization experiences, learning experiences and reasons for starting business. The results of the study show women entrepreneurs define their success in various ways including, financial gains, growth, personal fulfillment, helping others, social contribution among others play a role here. Further, based on the findings an attempt has been made to identify different groups of women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia suggesting women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia are not a homogeneous group. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/09&r=ent |
| By: | Thomas F. Hellmann; Veikko Thiele |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a theory of how angel and venture capital markets interact. Entrepreneurs first receive angel then venture capital funding. The two investor types are ‘friends’ in that they rely upon each other’s investments. However, they are also ‘foes’, because at the later stage the venture capitalists no longer need the angels. Using a costly search model we derive the equilibrium deal flows across the two markets, endogenously deriving market sizes, competitive structures, valuation levels, and exit rates. We discuss how the model generates alternative testable hypotheses for the recent rise of angel investing. |
| JEL: | D53 D83 G24 L26 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20147&r=ent |
| By: | Susan Marlow (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | The role of network relationships has become topical in research on the internationalization process of firms. Research has focused on the internationalization process of firms in developed nations. This research adds to the literature by looking at the use of network relationships in Ethiopian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs2) exporting spices, meat and shoes. Propositions are formulated from findings in the literature. Using a multiple case study of three Ethiopian firms, the influence of different networks on the foreign market entry process (FME) was researched. The focus was on the effect of network relations on the foreign market choice (FMC) and market entry mode choice (MEMC). The outcomes show that network relations play an important role in the internationalization. Contrary to expectations, the internationalization of the Ethiopian case firms depended completely on foreign firms initiating contacts and therewith the entrance into foreign markets. The foreign firms also influenced market entry mode choices of the firms under study. None of the firms did market research or had a strategic plan to enter the market, reflecting a reactive approach to internationalization. The vertical network, based on strong formal relations with the foreign product buyers, played a significant role in the foreign market and market entry mode choice. An important finding from the research is the notion that horizontal networks, especially the intermediary role played by foreign country governments and foreign and Ethiopian export organizations, had a big influence in the early stages on the contact relations between the foreign buyer and the Ethiopian exporter. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/18&r=ent |
| By: | Filippin, Antonio (University of Milan); Crosetto, Paolo (Université de Grenoble) |
| Abstract: | This paper reconsiders the wide agreement that females are more risk averse than males providing a leap forward in its understanding. Thoroughly surveying the experimental literature we first find that gender differences are less ubiquitous than usually depicted. Gathering the microdata of an even larger sample of Holt and Laury replications we boost the statistical power of the test and show that the magnitude of gender differences, although significant, is economically unimportant. We conclude that gender differences systematically correlate with the features of the elicitation method used and in particular the availability of a safe option and fixed probabilities. |
| Keywords: | gender, risk, survey |
| JEL: | C81 C91 D81 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8184&r=ent |
| By: | Agrawal, Ajay; Cockburn, Iain M; Galasso, Alberto; Oettl, Alexander |
| Abstract: | Large firms spawn spin-outs caused by innovations deemed unrelated to the firm's overall business. Small firms generate demand for specialized services that lower entry costs for others. We study the interplay of these two localized externalities and their impact on regional innovation. We examine MSA-level patent data during the period 1975-2000 and find that innovation output is higher in regions where large and small firms coexist. The finding is robust to across-region as well as within-region analysis and the effect is stronger in certain subsamples in a manner that is consistent with our explanation. |
| Keywords: | cities; externalities; firm size diversity; innovation; patents; spin-outs |
| JEL: | L16 O18 O47 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9766&r=ent |
| By: | Chiara Criscuolo; Peter N. Gal; Carlo Menon |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a new Stata® command, dynemp, which implements a distributed micro-data analysis of business and employment dynamics and firm demographics. The data source it requires are business registers or comparable firm- or establishment- level longitudinal databases which cover the (near-) universe of companies in all business sectors. Access to such confidential data is usually restricted and the micro-level data cannot be brought together to a single platform for cross-country analysis. To solve this confidentiality problem while also maintaining a high level of harmonisation of the key economic concepts (gross job flows, growth rates of employment, definition of high-growth firms, etc.), dynemp can be distributed in a network of researchers who have access to the national confidential microdata. In such manner, the rich firm-level employment dynamics can be analysed from new angles (such as firm age and size), significantly expanding the scope of the analysis insofar possible using more aggregated data. |
| Keywords: | job flows, firm demographics, employment dynamics |
| Date: | 2014–05–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stiaaa:2014/2-en&r=ent |
| By: | Pai-Ling Yin; Jason P. Davis (INSEAD); Yulia Muzyrua (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | The mobile applications (apps) industry has exhibited rapid entry and growth in the midst of a recession. Using unique data from the iPhone application ecosystem, we examine how the development of “killer apps” (apps appearing in the top grossing rank) varies by market and app characteristics. We find that previous app experience and no updating increase the likelihood of becoming a killer game app, while more updates increase the likelihood of becoming a non-game killer app. Development opportunities, level of competition, and demand preferences are possible drivers of the opposing innovation process results in game and non-game markets. |
| Keywords: | Keywords: |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sip:dpaper:13-028&r=ent |
| By: | Karthik Krishnan; Debarshi Nandy; Manju Puri |
| Abstract: | We analyze how increased access to financing affects firm total factor productivity (TFP) by exploiting a natural experiment following interstate banking deregulations which increased access to bank financing. We find that firms' TFP increases after their states implement these deregulations. Using a regression discontinuity approach based on Small Business Administration’s funding eligibility criteria, we show that TFP increases following the deregulations are significantly greater for financially constrained firms. Our results suggest that greater access to financing allows financially constrained firms to invest in productive projects that may otherwise not be taken up. |
| JEL: | G21 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20149&r=ent |