IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/max/cprwps/11.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Cash Constraints and Business Start-ups: Deutschmarks versus Dollars

Author

Listed:
  • Douglas Holtz-Eakin
  • Harvey Rosen

Abstract

In this paper we analyze microdata to explore differences in the rates at which American and German workers leave their salaried jobs to become self-employed. We document that the rate of self-employment is lower in Germany than in the U.S., and the rate of transition from wage-earning to self-employment is lower as well. We find evidence that German workers face liquidity constraints that are more severe than those of their American counterparts. Further, the difference in transition rates cannot be attributed to observable differences between German and American workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas Holtz-Eakin & Harvey Rosen, 1999. "Cash Constraints and Business Start-ups: Deutschmarks versus Dollars," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 11, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    • Handle: RePEc:max:cprwps:11
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://surface.syr.edu/cpr/148/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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 808-827, August.
    2. Blanchflower, David G & Oswald, Andrew J, 1998. "What Makes an Entrepreneur?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 26-60, January.
    3. Robert W. Fairlie & Bruce D. Meyer, 1996. "Ethnic and Racial Self-Employment Differences and Possible Explanations," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(4), pages 757-793.
    4. Raquel Carrasco, 1999. "Transitions to and From Self‐employment in Spain: An Empirical Analysis," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(3), pages 315-341, August.
    5. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1998. "Capital-Market Imperfections and Investment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 193-225, March.
    6. Yannis Georgellis & Howard Wall, 2005. "Gender differences in self-employment," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-342.
    7. 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, University of Manchester, vol. 65(4), pages 427-442, September.
    8. repec:bla:jindec:v:46:y:1998:i:4:p:453-88 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Dietmar Harhoff & Konrad Stahl & Michaerl Woywode, 1998. "Legal Form, Growth and Exit of West German Firms—Empirical Results for Manufacturing, Construction, Trade and Service Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 453-488, December.
    10. Blanchflower, David G & Meyer, Bruce D, 1994. "A Longitudinal Analysis of the Young Self-Employed in Australia and the United States," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-19, February.
    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. Frank M. Fossen, 2007. "Risky Earnings, Taxation and Entrepreneurial Choice: A Microeconometric Model for Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 29, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    2. Nykvist, Jenny, 2005. "Entrepreneurship and Liquidity Constraints: Evidence from Sweden," Working Paper Series 2005:21, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    3. R. Glenn Hubbard & William M. Gentry, 2000. "Tax Policy and Entrepreneurial Entry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 283-287, May.
    4. Robert W. Fairlie & Harry A. Krashinsky, 2012. "Liquidity Constraints, Household Wealth, And Entrepreneurship Revisited," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 58(2), pages 279-306, June.
    5. Robert W. Fairlie, 2013. "Entrepreneurship, Economic Conditions, and the Great Recession," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 207-231, June.
    6. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    7. Davud Rostam-Afschar, 2014. "Entry regulation and entrepreneurship: a natural experiment in German craftsmanship," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1067-1101, November.
    8. Ruth Oyelere & Willie Belton, 2013. "Black–White gap in self-employment. Does intra-race heterogeneity exist?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 25-39, June.
    9. Frank M. Fossen, 2012. "Gender differences in entrepreneurial choice and risk aversion -- a decomposition based on a microeconometric model," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(14), pages 1795-1812, May.
    10. Glocker, Daniela & Steiner, Viktor, 2007. "Self-Employment: A Way to End Unemployment? Empirical Evidence from German Pseudo-Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 2561, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Dorothea Schäfer & Oleksandr Talavera, 2006. "Small-Scale Business Survival and Inheritance: Evidence from Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 636, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    12. Jenny Nykvist, 2008. "Entrepreneurship and Liquidity Constraints: Evidence from Sweden," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(1), pages 23-43, March.
    13. Robert W. Fairlie, 2013. "Minority and immigrant entrepreneurs: access to financial capital," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 8, pages 153-175, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Raquel Fonseca & Simon Lord, 2015. "Les déterminants du travail autonome au Québec et au Canada (1993-201," Cahiers de recherche 1517, Chaire de recherche Industrielle Alliance sur les enjeux économiques des changements démographiques.
    15. Robert W. Fairlie & Alicia M. Robb, 2007. "Why Are Black-Owned Businesses Less Successful than White-Owned Businesses? The Role of Families, Inheritances, and Business Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(2), pages 289-323.
    16. Sauer, Robert M. & Wilson, Tanya, 2016. "The rise of female entrepreneurs: New evidence on gender differences in liquidity constraints," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 73-86.
    17. Rafael P. Ribas, 2020. "Liquidity constraints, spillovers, and entrepreneurship: evidence from a cash transfer program," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1131-1158, December.
    18. Fonseca, Raquel & Lord, Simon, 2016. "Les déterminants du travail autonome au Québec et au Canada (1993-2010)," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 92(3), pages 489-513, Septembre.
    19. Dorothea Schäfer & Oleksandr Talavera, 2009. "Small business survival and inheritance: evidence from Germany," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 95-109, January.
    20. Sandra E. Black & Philip E. Strahan, 2002. "Entrepreneurship and Bank Credit Availability," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2807-2833, December.
    21. Rafael P. Ribas, 2014. "Liquidity Constraints, Informal Financing, and Entrepreneurship: Direct and Indirect Effects of a Cash Transfer Programme," Working Papers 131, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    22. Kapinos, Pavel & Gurley-Calvez, Tami & Kapinos, Kandice, 2016. "(Un)expected housing price changes: Identifying the drivers of small business finance," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 79-94.
    23. Blanchflower, David G. & Shadforth, Chris, 2007. "Entrepreneurship in the UK," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 3(4), pages 257-364, July.

    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. Kim, GiSeung, 2007. "The analysis of self-employment levels over the life-cycle," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 397-410, July.
    2. Blanchflower, David G., 2000. "Self-employment in OECD countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 471-505, September.
    3. Harding, John P. & Rosenthal, Stuart S., 2017. "Homeownership, housing capital gains and self-employment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 120-135.
    4. Román, Concepción & Congregado, Emilio & Millán, José María, 2013. "Start-up incentives: Entrepreneurship policy or active labour market programme?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 151-175.
    5. Flèche, Sarah & Lepinteur, Anthony & Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2021. "The importance of capital in closing the entrepreneurial gender gap: A longitudinal study of lottery wins," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 591-607.
    6. Yannis Georgellis & Howard Wall, 2005. "Gender differences in self-employment," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-342.
    7. Niklas Elert, 2014. "What determines entry? Evidence from Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 53(1), pages 55-92, August.
    8. Paul A. Coomes & Jose Fernandez & Stephan F. Gohmann, 2013. "The Rate of Proprietorship Among Metropolitan Areas: The Impact of the Local Economic Environment and Capital Resources," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(4), pages 745-770, July.
    9. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    10. Blanchflower, David G. & Shadforth, Chris, 2007. "Entrepreneurship in the UK," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 3(4), pages 257-364, July.
    11. repec:bla:scotjp:v:49:y:2002:i:2:p:162-95 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. repec:cii:cepiei:2014-q2-138-2 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Gema Álvarez & Carlos Gradín & Mª Soledad Otero, 2013. "Self-Employment: Transition And Earnings Differential," Revista de Economia Aplicada, Universidad de Zaragoza, Departamento de Estructura Economica y Economia Publica, vol. 21(2), pages 61-90, Autumn.
    14. Bergner, Sören Martin & Bräutigam, Rainer & Evers, Maria Theresia & Spengel, Christoph, 2017. "The use of SME tax incentives in the European Union," ZEW Discussion Papers 17-006, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    15. David Cuberes & Sadia Priyanka & Marc Teignier, 2019. "The determinants of entrepreneurship gender gaps: A cross‐country analysis," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 72-101, February.
    16. George Saridakis & Anne-Marie Mohammed & Jesús M. García-Iglesias & Rebeca I. Muñoz Torres, 2018. "Economy and Divorces: Their Impact Over Time on the Self-Employment Rates in Spain," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 422-435, September.
    17. Gema Álvarez & Carlos Gradín & M. Soledad Otero, 2009. "Self-employment in Spain: Transition and earnings differential," Working Papers 0907, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Economía Aplicada.
    18. Nathalie Colombier & David Masclet, 2008. "Intergenerational correlation in self employment: some further evidence from French ECHP data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 423-437, April.
    19. Roy Thurik & Sander Wennekers & Ingrid Verheul & David Audretsch, 2001. "An eclectic theory of entrepreneurship: policies, institutions and culture," Scales Research Reports H200012, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    20. Sander Wennekers & Roy Thurik & André Stel & Niels Noorderhaven, 2010. "Uncertainty Avoidance and the Rate of Business Ownership Across 21 OECD Countries, 1976–2004," Springer Books, in: Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik (ed.), Entrepreneurship and Culture, chapter 0, pages 271-299, Springer.
    21. Joanna Tyrowicz & Joanna Nestorowicz, 2010. "Cynicism Starts Young: Age and Entrepreneurship over Transition," Working Papers 2010-02, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    22. Muravyev, Alexander & Talavera, Oleksandr & Schäfer, Dorothea, 2009. "Entrepreneurs' gender and financial constraints: Evidence from international data," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 270-286, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:max:cprwps:11. 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: Katrina Fiacchi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cpsyrus.html .

    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.