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In brief...'Smart and illicit': the making of a successful entrepreneur

Author

Listed:
  • Ross Levine
  • Yona Rubinstein

Abstract

Smart teenagers who engage in illicit activities are much more likely to become entrepreneurs, according to research by Ross Levine and Yona Rubinstein. But, they note, being self-employed doesn't necessarily make someone an entrepreneur: recognising this distinction has enabled them to detect both the key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and the true rewards to their innovations. The incorporated self-employed earn much more per hour and work many more hours than people on salaries and the unincorporated self-employed. To measure illicit activities, the study uses survey data on skipping school, using alcohol and marijuana, vandalism, shoplifting, drug dealing, robbery, assault and gambling. The point is not that these are desirable activities or that parents should help their kids get involved in them to encourage entrepreneurship: rather, they can be used to gauge someone's inclination to build and lead a successful and innovative business.

Suggested Citation

  • Ross Levine & Yona Rubinstein, 2013. "In brief...'Smart and illicit': the making of a successful entrepreneur," CentrePiece - The magazine for economic performance 399, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepcnp:399
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    File URL: https://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/cp399.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Self-employment; Occupational choice; Compensation; Firm organization; Corporate finance; Cognitive and Noncognitive traits;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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