"This paper addresses the 'Jack-of-all-Trades' hypothesis, which presumes that it is individuals' variety of competencies/experience that drives entrepreneurship instead of their level of productivity (Lazear, 2005). The analysis focuses on two related dimensions of this variety argument: taste for variety (identified due to desire) and investment in ability (identified due to competence). First, the results show that it is important to distinguish between discrete and high level investments in the variety of experience. For instance, a high level of investment - which defines a 'Jack-of-all-Trades' - is less correlated with formal schooling than discrete investments. Second, the results indicate that both taste (desire) and ability (competence) correlate with the variety of experience, but the nature of the correlation differs. Particularly for males, the 'Jack-of-all-Trades'-hypothesis predominately relates to competence and not to desire." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Paper provided by Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany] in its series IAB Discussion Paper with number
200910.
Find related papers by JEL classification: M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
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