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Post-Materialism Influencing Total Entrepreneurial Activity Across Nations

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Author Info
Lorraine Uhlaner
Roy Thurik

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Abstract

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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Paper provided by Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group in its series Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy with number 2005-20.

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Length: 33 pages
Date of creation: Jul 2005
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Handle: RePEc:esi:egpdis:2005-20

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Related research
Keywords: comparative analysis of economies; cultural economics; entrepreneurship; self-employment; macro-economic analyses of economic development;

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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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References listed on IDEAS
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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  9. Ingrid Verheul & Andre van Stel & Roy Thurik, 2004. "Explaining female and male entrepreneurship across 29 countries," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2004-08, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Lorraine Uhlaner & Roy Thurik, 2005. "Post-Materialism Influencing Total Entrepreneurial Activity Across Nations," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-20, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. [Downloadable!]
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  24. Uhlaner, L.M. & Thurik, A.R. & Hutjes, J., 2002. "Post-Materialism as a Cultural Factor Influencing Entrepreneurial Activity across Nations," Research Paper ERS-2002-62-STR 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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  25. Roy Thurik & Isabel Grilo, 2005. "Latent and actual entrepreneurship in Europe and the US: some recent developments," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-24, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. [Downloadable!]
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Full references

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.)

  1. Tobias König & Andreas Wagener, 2008. "(Post-)Materialist Attitudes and the Mix of Capital and Labour Taxation," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik, 2007. "Entrepreneurship and its determinants in a cross-country setting," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 117-131, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2007. "Entrepreneurial culture, regional innovativeness and economic growth," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 187-210, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Pia Arenius & Stefan Ehrstedt, 2008. "Variation in the level of activity across the stages of the entrepreneurial startup process-evidence from 35 countries," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 35(2 Year 20), pages 133-152, December. [Downloadable!]
  5. Axel Dreher & Martin Gassebner, 2007. "Greasing the Wheels of Entrepreneurship? The Impact of Regulations and Corruption on Firm Entry," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Lorraine Uhlaner & Roy Thurik, 2007. "Postmaterialism influencing total entrepreneurial activity across nations," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 161-185, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Jolanda Hessels & Marco Gelderen & Roy Thurik, 2008. "Entrepreneurial aspirations, motivations, and their drivers," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 323-339, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. 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:
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