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The impact of consumer credit access on self-employment and entrepreneurship

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  • Herkenhoff, Kyle
  • Phillips, Gordon M.
  • Cohen-Cole, Ethan

Abstract

We examine how consumer credit affects entrepreneurship by linking three million earnings and pass-through tax records to credit reports. In the cross-section, we show that self-employment without employees and employer firm ownership increase monotonically with credit limits and credit scores. We then isolate individuals who have had discrete increases in credit limits after the exogenous removal of bankruptcy flags to measure the effects of personal credit on entrepreneurship. Following bankruptcy flag removal, individuals are more likely to start a new employer business and borrow extensively. Those who own businesses with employees borrow $40,000 more after bankruptcy flag removal, a 33% gain relative to the sample average.

Suggested Citation

  • Herkenhoff, Kyle & Phillips, Gordon M. & Cohen-Cole, Ethan, 2021. "The impact of consumer credit access on self-employment and entrepreneurship," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(1), pages 345-371.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:141:y:2021:i:1:p:345-371
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.03.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Jean‐Noël Barrot & Erik Loualiche & Matthew Plosser & Julien Sauvagnat, 2022. "Import Competition and Household Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(6), pages 3037-3091, December.
    3. Craig Wesley Carpenter & Kristopher Deming & John Anders & Michael Lotspeich‐Yadao & Charles M. Tolbert & Adam Ingrao, 2024. "Do payday lending bans protect or constrain regional economies? Evidence from the Military Lending Act's final rule," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(2), pages 319-335, April.
    4. Bu, Di & Liao, Yin, 2022. "Land property rights and rural enterprise growth: Evidence from land titling reform in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Braxton, John Carter & Chikhale, Nisha & Herkenhoff, Kyle & Phillips, Gordon, 2024. "Intergenerational Mobility and Credit," IZA Discussion Papers 16826, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Josh Blonz & Brigitte Roth Tran & Erin E. Troland, 2023. "The Canary in the Coal Decline: Appalachian Household Finance and the Transition from Fossil Fuels," NBER Working Papers 31072, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Eleonora Brandimarti & Giacomo De Giorgi & Jeremy Laurent-Lucchetti, 2024. "Credit and Voting," Papers 2407.06808, arXiv.org.
    8. Feng, Dawei & Zeng, Bing & Hu, Haoyu, 2023. "Access to credit cards and household labor participation: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    9. Liu, Taixing & Yin, Zhichao, 2024. "The clan and informal financing in China: An analysis of the trickle-down effect," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 646-666.
    10. Ablam Estel Apeti & Jean-Louis Combes & Eyah Denise Edoh, 2023. "Entrepreneurship in developing countries: can mobile money play a role?," Working Papers hal-04081304, HAL.
    11. Dr. Md. Anowar Hossain & Brazendra Nath Roy & Md. Ali Hasan & Md. Shahadat Hossain, 2024. "Fostering Entrepreneurial Growth: The Impact of Institutional Credits," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 32(1), pages 65-73.
    12. Adela Luque & Vitaliy Novik, 2024. "Garage Entrepreneurs or just Self-Employed? An Investigation into Nonemployer Entrepreneurship," Working Papers 24-61, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    13. Cumming, Douglas J. & Sewaid, Ahmed, 2021. "FinTech loans, self-employment, and financial performance," CFS Working Paper Series 667, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    14. Zhu, Chen & Jin, Zhuo & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "The impact of informal care from children to their elderly parents on self-employment? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Start-ups; Credit access; Personal bankruptcy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation

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