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The Role of Information and Institutions in Understanding the Black-White Gap in Self-Employment

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Author Info
Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth () (Georgia Tech)
Belton, Willie () (Georgia Tech)

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Abstract

It has been well documented in the literature that ethnicity matters significantly in the determination of self-employment rates. In particular, African-American self-employment rates lag far behind rates for other racial groups. Similarly, the literature also provides evidence of the long lived nature of institutions and the link between institutions and decision making. After controlling for the appropriate factors that can lead to self-employment differentials, we provide an explanation for the self-employment gap that still exists between African-Americans and White Americans. We focus on the important role of repeated negative institutional shocks and how such shocks influence the development of an information matrix as well as the transmission of information across time and generations. We show that African-Americans who were less likely to be influenced by negative institutional shocks and the information stock created from these experiences, have similar self-employment rates to comparably situated White Americans.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3761.

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Date of creation: Oct 2008
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3761

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Related research
Keywords: African-American; institutions; information; self-employment;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General

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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. Belton, Willie & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2008. "The Racial Saving Gap Enigma: Unraveling the Role of Institutions," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 37089, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Magnus Lofstrom & Timothy Bates, 2007. "African Americans’ Pursuit of Self-Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 3156, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Robert W. Fairlie & Alicia M. Robb, 2007. "Why Are Black-Owned Businesses Less Successful than White-Owned Businesses? The Role of Families, Inheritances, and Business Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25, pages 289-323. [Downloadable!]
  4. William Darity & Dania Frank, 2003. "The Economics of Reparations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 326-329, May. [Downloadable!]
  5. Bernard F. Lentz & David N. Laband, 1990. "Entrepreneurial Success and Occupational Inheritance among Proprietors," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 23(3), pages 563-79, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Michael Hout & Harvey S. Rosen, 1999. "Self-Employment, Family Background, and Race," NBER Working Papers 7344, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Bourguignon, F. & Browning, M. & Chiappori, P. A., 1995. "The Collective Approach to Household Behaviour," DELTA Working Papers 95-04, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure).
  9. Nathalie Colombier & David Masclet, 2006. "Self-Employment and The Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital," CIRANO Working Papers 2006s-19, CIRANO. [Downloadable!]
  10. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution," NBER Working Papers 8460, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Bogan, Vicki & Darity Jr., William, 2008. "Culture and entrepreneurship? African American and immigrant self-employment in the United States," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1999-2019, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. David G. Blanchflower & Phillip B. Levine & David J. Zimmerman, 2003. "Discrimination in the Small-Business Credit Market," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(4), pages 930-943, 09. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Smith, James P & Welch, Finis R, 1989. "Black Economic Progress after Myrdal," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 27(2), pages 519-64, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Borjas, George J & Bronars, Stephen G, 1989. "Consumer Discrimination and Self-employment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(3), pages 581-605, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Brimmer, Andrew F, 1988. "Income, Wealth, and Investment Behavior in the Black Community," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 151-55, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Blanchflower, D.G. & Oswald, A., 1991. "What Makes an Entrepreneur?," Economics Series Working Papers 99125, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    Other versions:
  17. Francine D. Blau & John W. Graham, 1990. "Black-White Differences in Wealth and Asset Composition," NBER Working Papers 2898, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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