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What Makes a Young Entrepreneur

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Author Info
David G. Blanchflower () (Dartmouth College, NBER, Bank of England and IZA)
Andrew J. Oswald () (University of Warwick and IZA)

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Abstract

This paper documents some of the patterns in modern microeconomic data on young people’s employment, attitudes and entrepreneurial behaviour. Among other sources, the paper uses the Eurobarometer Surveys; the Labour Force Surveys from Canada and the Current Population Survey in the United States. The first conclusion is that self-employed individuals - a special but well-defined entrepreneurial group - report markedly greater wellbeing than equivalent employees. Their job satisfaction and life-satisfaction are all higher than workers of identical personal characteristics. The second conclusion is that individuals say they would like to be self-employed. There is, according to the survey data, a large pool of potentially entrepreneurial people. Across the West, many millions of employees would apparently prefer to be self-employed. Third, we showed that another important determinant of being self-employed is having a self-employed parent. This appears to help young people to set up in business themselves. It is unclear whether this is done by inheriting the business, or working in the family firm or actually setting up a new business entirely.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3139.

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Length: 18 pages
Date of creation: Nov 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3139

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Related research
Keywords: youth entrepreneurship; self-employment;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Cowling, Marc & Mitchell, Peter, 1997. "The Evolution of U.K. Self-Employment: A Study of Government Policy and the Role of the Macroeconomy," The Manchester School of Economic & Social Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 65(4), pages 427-42, September.
  2. Blanchflower, David G., 2000. "Self-employment in OECD countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 471-505, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2004. "Well-being over time in Britain and the USA," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(7-8), pages 1359-1386, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Black, Jane & de Meza, David & Jeffreys, David, 1996. "House Price, the Supply of Collateral and the Enterprise Economy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(434), pages 60-75, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Douglas Holtz-Eakin & David Joulfaian & Harvey S. Rosen, 1994. "Entrepreneurial Decisions and Liquidity Constraints," NBER Working Papers 4526, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Nzinga Broussard & Ralph Chami & Gregory Hess, 2003. "(Why) Do Self-Employed Parents Have More Children?," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  7. Dunn, Thomas & Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, 2000. "Financial Capital, Human Capital, and the Transition to Self-Employment: Evidence from Intergenerational Links," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(2), pages 282-305, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Lindh, Thomas & Ohlsson, Henry, 1996. "Self-Employment and Windfall Gains: Evidence from the Swedish Lottery," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(439), pages 1515-26, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. David G. Blanchflower & Chris Shadforth, 2007. "Entrepreneurship in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 2818, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  10. Thomas Dunn & Douglas Holtz-Eakin, 2000. "Financial Capital, Human Capital, and the Transition to Self-Employment:Evidence from Intergenerational Links," NBER Working Papers 5622, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Evans, David S & Jovanovic, Boyan, 1989. "An Estimated Model of Entrepreneurial Choice under Liquidity Constraints," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 808-27, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Blanchflower, D.G. & Oswald, A., 1991. "What Makes an Entrepreneur?," Economics Series Working Papers 99125, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Martinez-Granado, Maite, 2002. "Self-Employment and Labour Market Transitions: A Multiple State Model," CEPR Discussion Papers 3661, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Andrew Burke & Felix FitzRoy & Michael Nolan, 2008. "What makes a die-hard entrepreneur? Beyond the ‘employee or entrepreneur’ dichotomy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 93-115, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Sarah Brown & Lisa Farrel & John Sessions, 2006. "Self-Employment Matching: An Analysis of Dual Earner Couples and Working Households," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 155-172, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Jeffrey Carpenter & Samuel Bowles & Herbert Gintis, 2006. "Mutual Monitoring in Teams: Theory and Experimental Evidence on the Importance of Reciprocity," IZA Discussion Papers 2106, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. repec:fth:prinin:319 is not listed on IDEAS
  6. Zoltan J. Acs & Monika I. Megyesi, 2007. "Creativity and Industrial Cities: A Case Study of Baltimore," Jena Economic Research Papers in Economics 2007-024, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics, Thueringer Universitaets- und Landesbibliothek. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Aki Kangasharju, 1998. "Regional variation in firm formation: Panel and cross-sectional data evidence from Finland," ERSA conference papers ersa98p134, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  8. Douglas Holtz-Eakin & David Joulfaian & Harvey S. Rosen, 1993. "Sticking it Out: Entrepreneurial Survival and Liquidity Constraints," NBER Working Papers 4494, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Daniela Grieco, 2008. "The entrepreneurial decision: theories, determinants and constraints," LIUC Papers in Economics 207, Cattaneo University (LIUC). [Downloadable!]
  10. Valentijn Bilsen & Elena Mitina, 1999. "Financing Firm Start-up and Restructuring in Transition Countries: Evidence from Belarus, the Ukraine and Russia," ESRC Centre for Business Research - Working Papers wp150, ESRC Centre for Business Research. [Downloadable!]
  11. David G. Blanchflower, 2008. "Minority Self-Employment in the United States and the Impact of Affirmative Action Programs," NBER Working Papers 13972, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. James A Schmitz & Thomas J Holmes, 1992. "Managerial Tenure, Business Age And Small Business Dynamics," Working Papers 92-11, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
  13. David Blanchflower & Andrew Oswald, 1992. "Entrepreneurship, Happiness and Supernormal Returns: Evidence from Britain and the US," NBER Working Papers 4228, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Marco Caliendo & Alexander S. Kritikos, 2008. "Start-Ups by the Unemployed: Characteristics, Survival and Direct Employment Effects," Working Papers 008, Hanseatic University, Germany, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  15. David G. Blanchflower & Bruce D. Meyer, 1991. "A Longitudinal Analysis of Young Entrepreneurs in Australia and the United States," NBER Working Papers 3746, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Gavin C Reid & Julia A Smith, 1996. "What Makes a New Business Start-Up Successful?," CRIEFF Discussion Papers 9618, Centre for Research into Industry, Enterprise, Finance and the Firm. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  17. Sarah Brown & Lisa Farrell & Mark N. Harris, 2003. "Who are the Self-employed? A New Approach," Monash Econometrics and Business Statistics Working Papers 11/03, Monash University, Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  18. Douglas Holtz-Eakin & David Joulfaian & Harvey S. Rosen, 1994. "Entrepreneurial Decisions and Liquidity Constraints," NBER Working Papers 4526, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  19. repec:fth:prinin:299 is not listed on IDEAS
  20. Thomas Åstbro & Irwin Bernhardt, 2005. "The Winner’s Curse of Human Capital," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 63-78, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Thomas Astebro & Irwin Bernhardt, 1999. "The Winners Curse of Human Capital," Working Papers 99-5, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
  22. Bruce D. Meyer, 1990. "Why Are There So Few Black Entrepreneurs?," NBER Working Papers 3537, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Robert W. Fairlie & Bruce D. Meyer, 1994. "The Ethnic and Racial Character of Self-Employment," NBER Working Papers 4791, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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