Working Paper: NBER ID: w14012
Authors: Silvia Ardagna; Annamaria Lusardi
Abstract: We use a micro dataset that collects information across individuals, countries, and time to investigate the determinants of entrepreneurial activity in thirty-seven developed and developing nations. We focus both on individual characteristics and on countries' regulatory differences. We show that individual characteristics, such as gender, age, and status in the workforce are important determinants of entrepreneurship, and we also highlight the relevance of social networks, self-assessed skills, and attitudes toward risk. Moreover, we find that regulation plays a critical role, particularly for those individuals who become entrepreneurs to pursue a business opportunity. The individual characteristics that are impacted most by regulation are those measuring working status, social network, business skills, and attitudes toward risk
Keywords: entrepreneurship; regulatory constraints; individual characteristics; social networks; risk attitudes
JEL Codes: M13; M38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| individual characteristics (Z13) | likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activity (L26) |
| gender (J16) | likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activity (L26) |
| age (J14) | likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activity (L26) |
| working status (J63) | likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activity (L26) |
| self-assessed business skills (G53) | likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurship (L26) |
| fear of failure (D91) | entrepreneurial activity (L26) |
| social networks (Z13) | entrepreneurship (M13) |
| regulatory environments (K23) | effects of individual characteristics on entrepreneurship (L26) |
| regulatory constraints (L51) | entrepreneurial activity (L26) |
| regulatory constraints (L51) | individuals pursuing business opportunities (M13) |