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Uncertainty avoidance and the rate of business ownership across 21 OECD countries, 1976-2004

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Author Info
André van Stel
Roy Thurik
Sander Wennekers
Niels Noorderhaven

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Abstract

Persistent differences in the level of business ownership across countries have attracted the attention of scientific as well as political debate. Cultural as well as economic influences are assumed to play a role. This paper deals with the influence of cultural attitudes towards uncertainty on the level of business ownership across 21 OECD countries. First, the concepts of uncertainty and risk are elaborated, as well as their relevance for entrepreneurship. An occupational choice model is introduced to underpin our reasoning at the macro-level. Second, regression analysis using pooled macro data for 1976, 1990 and 2004 and controlling for several economic variables, yields evidence that uncertainty avoidance is positively correlated with the prevalence of business ownership. According to our model, a restrictive climate of large organizations in high uncertainty avoidance countries pushes individuals striving for autonomy towards self-employment. Regressions for these three years separately show that in 2004 this positive correlation is no longer found, indicating that a compensating pull of entrepreneurship in countries with low uncertainty avoidance may have gained momentum in recent years. Third, an interaction term between uncertainty avoidance and GDP per capita in the pooled panel regressions shows that the historical negative relationship between GDP per capita and the level of business ownership is substantially weaker for countries with lower uncertainty avoidance. This suggests that rising opportunity costs of self-employment play a less important role in this cultural environment, or are being compensated by increasing entrepreneurial opportunities.

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Paper provided by EIM Business and Policy Research in its series Scales Research Reports with number H200605.

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Length: 29 pages
Date of creation: 27 Jun 2006
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Handle: RePEc:eim:papers:h200605

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  6. Noorderhaven, N. & Thurik, A.R. & Wennekers, A.R.M. & Stel, A.J. van, 2003. "Self-Employment Across 15 European Countries:," Research Paper ERS-2003-081-ORG Revision, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus Uni. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Sander Wennekers & André van Wennekers & Roy Thurik & Paul Reynolds, 2005. "Nascent Entrepreneurship and the Level of Economic Development," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 293-309, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  25. Ingrid Verheul & Sander Wennekers & David Audretsch & Roy Thurik, 2001. "An Eclectic Theory of Entrepreneurship: Policies, Institutions and Culture," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 01-030/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
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  26. Roy Thurik & Lorraine Uhlaner, 2004. "Post-Materialism: A Cultural Factor influencing Total Entrepreneurial Activity across Nations," Scales Research Reports N200321, EIM Business and Policy Research. [Downloadable!]
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  27. Roy Thurik & Isabel Grilo, 2005. "Determinants of entrepreneurial engagement levels in Europe and the US," Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-25, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Group for Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy. [Downloadable!]
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  28. Meager, Nigel, 1992. " Does Unemployment Lead to Self-employment?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 87-103, June.
  29. André van Stel & Roy Thurik & Sander Wennekers & Niels Noorderhaven, 2004. "The role of dissatisfaction and per capita income in explaining self-employment across 15 European countries," Scales Research Reports N200407, EIM Business and Policy Research. [Downloadable!]
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  30. McGrath, Rita Gunther & MacMillan, Ian C. & Scheinberg, Sari, 1992. "Elitists, risk-takers, and rugged individualists? An exploratory analysis of cultural differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 115-135, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Rui Baptista, 2004. "Culture, Institutions and Government Attitudes towards New Firm Entry," Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2004-39, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Group for Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy. [Downloadable!]
  2. Lorraine Uhlaner & Roy Thurik, 2005. "Post-Materialism Influencing Total Entrepreneurial Activity Across Nations," Discussion Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-20, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Group for Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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