The study of predictors of entrepreneurial activity at the country level has been dominated by economic influences. However, the relative stability of differences in entrepreneurial activity across countries suggests that other forces such as institutional and/or cultural factors are at play. The objective of this paper is to explore more specifically how post-materialism may help to explain differences in entrepreneurial activity across countries. A distinction is made between nascent entrepreneurship, new business formation and a combination of the two, referred to as total entrepreneurial activity, as defined within the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. The model is also tested for the rate of established businesses, as distinct from nascent and young firms. The measure for post-materialism is based upon Inglehart's four-item post-materialism index. Because of the known interactions between economic, cultural, and social factors found in previous research, a set of economic, demographic and social factors is included to investigate the independent role post-materialism plays in prediction of entrepreneurial activity levels. In particular, per capita income is used to control for economic effects. Education rates at both secondary and tertiary levels are used as demographic variables. Finally, life satisfaction is included to control for social effects. Data from 27 countries, world-wide, are used to test the hypotheses, based on intersecting data available from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, World Values Survey and other published sources. Findings confirm the significance of post-materialism in predicting total entrepreneurial activity and more particularly, new business formation rates, even when controlling for these other factors.
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Uhlaner, L.M. & Thurik, A.R., 2006.
"Postmaterialism Influencing Total Entrepreneurial Activity across Nations,"
Research Paper
ERS-2006-062-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.
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Find related papers by JEL classification: P52 - Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Studies of Particular Economies Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups O11 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development O57 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries
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Uhlaner, L.M. & Thurik, A.R., 2006.
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Research Paper
ERS-2006-062-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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Uhlaner, L.M. & Thurik, A.R. & Hutjes, J., 2002.
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Cited by: (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.)
Uhlaner, L.M. & Thurik, A.R., 2006.
"Postmaterialism Influencing Total Entrepreneurial Activity across Nations,"
Research Paper
ERS-2006-062-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!]
Wennekers, A.R.M. & Thurik, A.R. & Stel, A.J. van & Noorderhaven, N., 2006.
"Uncertainty Avoidance and the Rate of Business Ownership Across 21 OECD Countries, 1976-2004,"
Research Paper
ERS-2006-065-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!]
Other versions: