nep-ent New Economics Papers
on Entrepreneurship
Issue of 2026–02–16
three papers chosen by
Marcus Dejardin, Université de Namur
  1. Is Speedy Start-up Always Better? The role of entrepreneurs’ prior experience By Masatoshi KATO
  2. Entry barriers and business dynamism: Evidence from occupational licensing reforms By Bredtmann, Julia; Otten, Sebastian; Rammert, Timo
  3. Same Shock, Separate Channels: House Prices and Firm Performance in the Great Recession By G. Jacob Blackwood
  1. By: Masatoshi KATO
    Abstract: Recent start-up policies and programs increasingly emphasize accelerating the entrepreneurial process, yet the effectiveness of such rapid progress remains unclear. This study investigates the relationship between the duration of nascent entrepreneurial activity and start-up size. Using a rich dataset of new firms in Japan, we examine how the duration of preparation time relates to start-up size. Drawing on the resource-based view in combination with the concept of time compression diseconomies, we argue that the need to accumulate resources in the nascent phase of entrepreneurship depends on entrepreneurs’ prior management and industry work experience. The results reveal that longer preparation increases start-up size for entrepreneurs without prior experience, whereas its marginal returns diminish for those with such experience. These findings imply that the advantages of speed primarily apply to those who possess sufficient initial resources. Consequently, policies should avoid one-size-fits-all acceleration and instead be tailored to the individual entrepreneur’s background.
    Date: 2026–02
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:26010
  2. By: Bredtmann, Julia; Otten, Sebastian; Rammert, Timo
    Abstract: We examine how occupational licensing shapes entrepreneurship in Germany's crafts sector. We exploit two sequential reforms that shifted entry barriers across occupations: a 2004 deregulation that relaxed licensing requirements and a 2020 partial re-regulation that reinstated them for a subset of crafts. Using administrative universe data at the occupation-year level and event-study difference-in-differences designs, we find that the 2004 deregulation led to a large and persistent increase in firm entry, a lagged rise in firm exits, and an expansion in the stock of firms. At the same time, completed master examinations declined markedly. The 2020 re-regulation reverses these patterns: master examinations increase, while firm entry, firm exit, and the stock of firms fall relative to occupations that remained deregulated. Overall, stricter entry requirements raise investment in formal credentials, yet reduce entrepreneurial turnover and market dynamism.
    Abstract: Wir untersuchen, wie sich die berufliche Zulassung auf das Unternehmertum im deutschen Handwerkssektor auswirkt. Wir nutzen zwei aufeinanderfolgende Reformen, die die Zugangsbarrieren für verschiedene Berufe verändert haben: eine Deregulierung im Jahr 2004, durch die die Zulassungsvoraussetzungen gelockert wurden, und eine teilweise Re-Regulierung im Jahr 2020, durch die diese für einen Teilbereich des Handwerks wieder eingeführt wurden. Anhand von administrativen Daten auf Berufs- und Jahresebene und mithilfe von Event-Study-Differenz-in-Differenzen-Modellen zeigen unsee Ergebnisse, dass die Deregulierung von 2004 zu einem starken und anhaltenden Anstieg der Unternehmensgründungen, einem verzögerten Anstieg der Unternehmensschließungen und einem Ansteig des Unternehmensbestands geführt hat. Gleichzeitig ging die Zahl der abgeschlossenen Meisterprüfungen deutlich zurück. Die Re-Regulierung von 2020 kehrte diese Muster um: Die Meisterprüfungen nehmen zu, während die Zahl der Unternehmensgründungen, Unternehmensschließungen und der Unternehmensbestand im Vergleich zu den weiterhin deregulierten Berufen zurückgeht. Insgesamt führen strengere Zugangsvoraussetzungen zu höheren Investitionen in formale Qualifikationen, verringern jedoch die Unternehmensfluktuation und die Marktdynamik.
    Keywords: Entrepreneurship, business dynamism, firm entry and exit, regulatory barriers, occupational licensing
    JEL: J24 J44 L26 L51 M13
    Date: 2025
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:335898
  3. By: G. Jacob Blackwood
    Abstract: Combining confidential business-level microdata with housing and banking data, I document large and persistent effects of local house prices on employment at small businesses, and particularly young businesses, during the Great Recession. I show that the effect on entry is important for explaining the disproportionate effect on young businesses, while young firm exit is also disproportionately affected. I then explore the channels through which house prices affect business outcomes. I use survey data to show that reliance on either personal assets or home equity is associated with increased sensitivity to house prices. I then use local bank balance sheet information to show both young and old firms are sensitive to local credit shocks, with some evidence of a larger effect on young businesses. I develop a macroeconomic model that is consistent with these findings where house prices work through two channels: a bank credit supply channel and a housing collateral channel.
    Keywords: Firm Dynamics, House Prices, Credit Supply, Business Cycles
    JEL: E44 D22 D25 R31
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:26-03
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