IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v57y2021i2d10.1007_s11187-020-00416-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Arts majors as entrepreneurs and innovators

Author

Listed:
  • Richard J. Paulsen

    (Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania)

  • Neil Alper

    (Northeastern University)

  • Gregory Wassall

    (Northeastern University)

Abstract

This study examines the role of college graduates with degrees in the arts, STEM, and other creative fields as entrepreneurs and innovators in the US economy. As creativity is a trait of art students and is important for those acting as entrepreneurs and innovators in an economy, arts majors have the potential to play an important role in these areas. Using American Community Survey data, we look to identify arts, STEM, and other creative majors who are working in entrepreneurial occupations, those where self-employment is common, and innovative industries, those that are copyright intensive. As it is possible that the nature of arts occupations may be inherently more entrepreneurial and innovative, we compare arts majors to STEM and other creative majors also likely to work in such occupations. Using logistic regression, we find that majoring in a core arts field more than doubles an individual’s likelihood of working in an entrepreneurial occupation or an innovative industry relative to non-creative majors. Other creative majors, like communications and STEM majors, are also associated with an increased likelihood of working as entrepreneurs or innovators. Relative to STEM and other creative majors, majoring in a core arts field is associated with the greatest increase in the likelihood of working in an entrepreneurial occupation and third greatest increase in the likelihood of working in an innovative industry. While arts graduates play an important role in artistic creation, this paper highlights a role for these graduates as entrepreneurs and innovators in the US economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard J. Paulsen & Neil Alper & Gregory Wassall, 2021. "Arts majors as entrepreneurs and innovators," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 639-652, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:57:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11187-020-00416-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-020-00416-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-020-00416-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-020-00416-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel Lechmann & Claus Schnabel, 2014. "Are the self-employed really jacks-of-all-trades? Testing the assumptions and implications of Lazear’s theory of entrepreneurship with German data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 59-76, January.
    2. Del Rossi, Alison F. & Hersch, Joni, 2008. "Double your major, double your return?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 375-386, August.
    3. Trine Bille & Søren Jensen, 2018. "Artistic education matters: survival in the arts occupations," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 42(1), pages 23-43, February.
    4. Maria Plotnikova & Isidoro Romero & Juan A. Martínez-Román, 2016. "Process innovation in small businesses: the self-employed as entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 939-954, December.
    5. Alexander S. Kritikos, 2024. "Entrepreneurs and their impact on jobs and economic growth," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-8.2, October.
    6. Blanchflower, D. & Oswald, A., 1990. "What Makes A Young Entrepreneur?," Papers 373, London School of Economics - Centre for Labour Economics.
    7. Blanchflower, David G., 2007. "Entrepreneurship in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 3130, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Joanna Woronkowicz & Douglas S. Noonan, 2019. "Who Goes Freelance? The Determinants of Self-Employment for Artists," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(4), pages 651-672, July.
    9. repec:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:p:8 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rajeev K. Goel, 2022. "Contributions of creative outputs to economic growth: A disaggregated analysis," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3872-3881, December.
    2. Rajeev K. Goel, 2022. "Knowledge diffusion worldwide: Role of university–industry collaborations and beyond," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(5), pages 1330-1339, July.
    3. Richard J. Paulsen, 2024. "Student loan debt and the career choices of college graduates with majors in the arts," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 48(1), pages 95-115, March.
    4. Richard J. Paulsen, 2022. "Arts majors and the Great Recession: a cross-sectional analysis of educational choices and employment outcomes," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(4), pages 635-658, December.
    5. Richard J. Paulsen & Rajendra Dulal, 2024. "Health insurance access and the career choices of college graduates with majors in the arts: evidence from the affordable care act’s dependent coverage expansion," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 48(3), pages 367-385, September.
    6. Wentao Yu & Xiaolan Tan, 2022. "The creative class in China: Heterogeneity and its regional determinants," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3466-3478, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Konon, Alexander & Fritsch, Michael & Kritikos, Alexander S., 2018. "Business cycles and start-ups across industries: An empirical analysis of German regions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 742-761.
    2. Christofides, Louis N. & Pashardes, Panos, 2002. "Self/paid-employment, public/private sector selection, and wage differentials," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(6), pages 737-762, December.
    3. Zoltan J. Acs & Monika I. Megyesi, 2009. "Creativity and industrial cities: A case study of Baltimore," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 421-439, July.
    4. Anna Manzoni & Jessi Streib, 2019. "The Equalizing Power of a College Degree for First-Generation College Students: Disparities Across Institutions, Majors, and Achievement Levels," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 60(5), pages 577-605, August.
    5. Mahé, Clothilde, 2016. "Skills and entrepreneurship: Are return migrants 'Jacks-of-all-trades'?," MERIT Working Papers 2016-071, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    6. Xiaoyu Yu & Xiaotong Meng & Laura Stanley & Franz W. Kellermanns, 2024. "Self-employment and life satisfaction: The contingent role of formal institutions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 135-163, June.
    7. Anita Wölfl, 2021. "Corona – Krise oder Chance für Start-ups?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 74(01), pages 62-65, January.
    8. Kritikos, Alexander, 2022. "Personality and Entrepreneurship," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1137, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Bingley, Paul & Corak, Miles & Westergård-Nielsen, Niels C., 2011. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Employers in Canada and Denmark," IZA Discussion Papers 5593, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Jhonny Villafuerte & Eder Intriago, 2016. "Productive Matrix Change in Ecuador and the Petroleum Crisis. Case Study: Entrepreneurs and Productive Associations," Journal of Business, LAR Center Press, vol. 1(1), pages 1-11, March.
    11. Jeffery Carpenter & Samuel Bowles & Herbert Gintis, 2006. "Mutual Monitoring in Teams: Theory and Experimental Evidence on the Importance of Reciprocity," Middlebury College Working Paper Series 0608, Middlebury College, Department of Economics.
    12. Megbel Aleidan, 2018. "A Correlational Analysis to Assess Major Obstacles Associated with the Internationalization of Saudi Startup Enterprises," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(12), pages 78-88, December.
    13. Elzbieta Turska, 2016. "Is Double-Degree Goal Equally Good for All Students? Moderating Impact of Interval Activity Style (Czy studia na drugim kierunku sluza wszystkim studentom? Modyfikuj¹cy efekt przedzialowego stylu akty," Problemy Zarzadzania, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 14(60), pages 134-146.
    14. Joaquin Blaum, 2012. "Wealth Inequality and the Losses from Financial Frictions," 2012 Meeting Papers 1077, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    15. Alessandro Arrighetti & Marco Vivarelli, 1999. "The Role of Innovation in the Postentry Performance of New Small Firms: Evidence from Italy," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(4), pages 927-939, April.
    16. Siddharth Shirodkar & Boyd Hunter, 2019. "Factors underlying the likelihood of being in business for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 22(1), pages 5-27.
    17. Artjoms Ivlevs & Milena Nikolova & Olga Popova, 2019. "Former Communist party membership and present-day entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe," Working Papers 384, Leibniz Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Institute for East and Southeast European Studies).
    18. Víctor M. González Sánchez, 2018. "Self-employment, Knowledge and Economic Growth: An empirical study for Latin American countries," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 12(4), December.
    19. 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, March.
    20. Weber, Cameron & Zhen, Ying & Arias, JJ, 2022. "Practice, Entrepreneurship and Subjectivity in Artist Identification with Applications to the Covid-Era," MPRA Paper 115712, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:57:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11187-020-00416-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.