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Determinants of entrepreneurship. Is it all about the individual or the region?

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  • Backman, Mikaela

    (Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), Jönköping International Business School, & Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE))

  • Karlsson, Charlie

    (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Jönköping International Business School)

Abstract

It is well established at whatever spatial level studied that economic actors exhibit a strong tendency to cluster. Despite this fact many explanations to entrepreneurship only considers the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs. This is certainly not a satisfactory state-of-the-art. It is obvious that the influence of spatial factors must be considered carefully. In this pa¬per we illustrate empirically that variations in the rate of entrepreneurship are explained not only in terms of characteristics of entrepreneurs, such as education, sector of employment, occupation, experience and income but also by the characteristics of i) the localities where they worked before they became entrepreneurs, ii) the localities where they currently started their firm and iii) the regions where these localities are situated. The characteristics of locali¬ties include size, population density, firm density and type of locality (metropolitan, urban, semi-rural or rural). The estimations use a multi-level approach to decipher the how much of the variance that can be explained by the different levels (individual, locality and region). The data used in this study is micro-level data for Sweden provided by Statistics Sweden.

Suggested Citation

  • Backman, Mikaela & Karlsson, Charlie, 2013. "Determinants of entrepreneurship. Is it all about the individual or the region?," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 338, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0338
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nilsson, Helena & Backman, Mikaela & Öner, Özge, 2020. "Towards a life after retail? The relationship between human capital and career outcomes in retail," HFI Working Papers 15, Institute of Retail Economics (Handelns Forskningsinstitut).
    2. Mikaela Backman & Charlie Karlsson, 2016. "Determinants of self-employment among commuters and non-commuters," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(4), pages 755-774, November.
    3. Roberto PATUELLI & Enrico SANTARELLI & Annie TUBADJI, 2020. "Entrepreneurial intention among high-school students: the importance of parents, peers and neighbors," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(2), pages 225-251, June.
    4. Izabela Kwil & Katarzyna Piwowar-Sulej & Małgorzata Krzywonos, 2020. "Local Entrepreneurship in the Context of Food Production: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Melichová Katarína & Melišková Ina & Palšová Lucia, 2018. "Land Withdrawal Vs. Regional Development: Does Withdrawal of Agricultural Land Lead to Increase in Entrepreneurial Activity and Generate Positive Spatial Spillovers? (Slovak Republic)," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 10(4), pages 590-613, December.
    6. Sin Tian Ho, Cynthia & Wilhelmsson, Mats, 2019. "Accessibility of bank branches and new firm formation in Sweden," Working Paper Series 19/8, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    entrepreneurship; individual attributes; regional attributes; networks; micro-level; multi-level;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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