Working Paper: NBER ID: w3252
Authors: David G. Blanchflower; Andrew J. Oswald
Abstract: The paper studies the factors which shape entrepreneurship among young adults. It finds, using data on a British birth cohort, that the probability of self-employment depends sensitively upon whether the individual ever received a gift or inheritance. Those who were given or inherited £5,000, for example, were approximately twice as likely, ceteris paribus, to set up in business. This is consistent with, and a new test of, recent results from the US stressing the importance of capital and liquidity constraints. The paper also evaluates a number of hypotheses suggested in the literature on small businesses.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Self-employment; Gifts; Inheritances; Liquidity constraints
JEL Codes: J24; L26
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| receiving gifts/inheritances (H24) | self-employment (L26) |