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Who chooses to become an entrepreneur? The Jacks-of-all-Trades in Social and Human Capital

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Author Info
Uschi Backes-Gellner () (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich)
Petra Moog () (University of Siegen)

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Abstract

This paper studies willingness to become an entrepreneur depending on an individual’s composition of human and social capital. Our theoretical analysis is an extension of Lazear’s (2005) jack-of-all-trades theory. Our primary implication is that it is not individuals with a higher level of human or social capital but rather individuals with a more balanced portfolio of human and social capital that are more willing than others to become entrepreneurs. We use survey data from a sample of more than 2000 German students to test this hypothesis and find that the jacks-of-all-trades, i.e. the more balanced individuals are more likely to become entrepreneurs. On the other hand, the Masters-in-One, i.e. the specialists, are better off being an employee and rightly prefer to be so.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU) in its series Working Papers with number 0076.

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Length: 37 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iso:wpaper:0076

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Related research
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Jack-of-all-trades theory; Social capital;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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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.:
  1. John F. Helliwell & Robert D. Putnam, 1999. "Education and Social Capital," NBER Working Papers 7121, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Olmo Silva, 2006. "The Jack-of-All-Trades Entrepreneur: Innate Talent or Acquired Skill?," IZA Discussion Papers 2264, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Roy Thurik, 2003. "Entrepreneurship and Unemployment in the UK," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 50(3), pages 264-290, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas & Joulfaian, David & Rosen, Harvey S, 1994. "Sticking It Out: Entrepreneurial Survival and Liquidity Constraints," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(1), pages 53-75, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Nicolaou, Nicos & Birley, Sue, 2003. "Academic networks in a trichotomous categorisation of university spinouts," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 333-359, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Evans, David S & Jovanovic, Boyan, 1989. "An Estimated Model of Entrepreneurial Choice under Liquidity Constraints," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 808-27, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Barton H. Hamilton, 2000. "Does Entrepreneurship Pay? An Empirical Analysis of the Returns to Self-Employment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 604-631, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Edward L. Glaeser & David Laibson & Bruce Sacerdote, 2002. "An Economic Approach to Social Capital," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(483), pages 437-458, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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