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Rugged Entrepreneurs: The Geographic and Cultural Contours of New Business Formation

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  • John M. Barrios
  • Yael Hochberg
  • Daniele Macciocchi

Abstract

How do geographic and historical-cultural factors shape new business formation? Using novel data on new business registrations, we document that 75% of the variation in new business formation is explained by time-invariant county-level factors and examine the extent to which such variation is driven by historical, cultural, and geographic factors. Current-day new business formation is positively related to historical attributes that presage individualist culture: frontier experience and historical birthplace diversity, as well as the county’s topographical features. The relation holds when we exploit plausibly exogenous variation in frontier experience driven by shocks to the settlement process that arise from historical immigration flows. Our study points to the fundamental role of geographic and historical-cultural features, especially rugged individualism, in explaining contemporary new business formation in the U.S.

Suggested Citation

  • John M. Barrios & Yael Hochberg & Daniele Macciocchi, 2021. "Rugged Entrepreneurs: The Geographic and Cultural Contours of New Business Formation," NBER Working Papers 28606, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28606
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    Cited by:

    1. Bertomeu, Jeremy, 2024. "Disclosure paternalism," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2).
    2. Katharina Hartinger, 2023. "Individualism, Creativity, and Innovation," Working Papers 2313, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    3. Gao, Lei & Han, Jianlei & Pan, Zheyao & Zhang, Huixuan, 2023. "Individualistic CEO and corporate innovation: Evidence from U.S. frontier culture," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    4. Engelberg, Joseph E. & Guzman, Jorge & Lu, Runjing & Mullins, William, 2021. "Partisan Entrepreneurship," SocArXiv qhs6j, Center for Open Science.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy
    • N9 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

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