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Personal and Regional Determinants of Entrepreneurial Activities: Empirical Evidence from the REM Germany

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Author Info
Wagner, Joachim () (University of Lueneburg, HWWA and IZA Bonn)
Sternberg, Rolf (University of Cologne)

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Abstract

This paper contributes to empirical research in entrepreneurship by focusing on the link between two stylized facts that emerged from a number of studies for Germany and other countries: Entry rates differ between regions, and the propensity to become an entrepreneur is influenced by socio-demographic variables and attitudes. We develop a theoretical framework to discuss this link, and we test whether for a person of a given age, degree of schooling, attitude towards risk etc. regional variables do matter for the decision to start a new business ceteris paribus. Our econometric study is based on data for 10.000 persons from a recent representative survey of the population in ten German planning regions, the Regional Entrepreneurship Monitor (REM). We use a version of the probit model that takes care of the regional stratification of the data, and the results of the nonlinear models are carefully interpreted and illustrated. We find that the propensity to step into self-employment is, among others, higher for males, unemployed, people with contacts to a role model, and with past entrepreneurial experience, who live in more densely populated and faster growing regions with higher rates of new firm formation, while risk aversion and high prices of land have the opposite impact.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 624.

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Length: 23 pages
Date of creation: Nov 2002
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp624

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Related research
Keywords: nascent entrepreneurs; Germany; regions;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
R12 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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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. Fritsch, Michael & Falck, Oliver, 2002. "New firm formation by industry over space and time: a multi-level analysis for Germany," ERSA conference papers ersa02p486, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  2. Paul Reynolds & David Storey & Paul Westhead, 1994. "Cross-national Comparisons of the Variation in New Firm Formation Rates," Regional Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 443-456, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Evans, David S & Leighton, Linda S, 1989. "Some Empirical Aspects of Entrepreneurship," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(3), pages 519-35, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. David Audretsch & Michael Fritsch, 1994. "The Geography of Firm Births in Germany," Regional Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 359-365, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. David B. Audretsch & Michael Fritsch, 2002. "Growth Regimes over Time and Space," Regional Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 113-124, April. [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. Kihlstrom, Richard E & Laffont, Jean-Jacques, 1979. "A General Equilibrium Entrepreneurial Theory of Firm Formation Based on Risk Aversion," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(4), pages 719-48, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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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.)

  1. John Armour & Douglas Cumming, 2005. "Bankruptcy Law and Entrepreneurship," ESRC Centre for Business Research - Working Papers wp300, ESRC Centre for Business Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Constant, Amelie & Shachmurove, Yochanan, 2003. "Entrepreneurial Ventures and Wage Differentials Between Germans and Immigrants," IZA Discussion Papers 879, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Block, Joern & Wagner, Marcus, 2006. "Necessity and Opportunity Entrepreneurs in Germany: Characteristics and Earnings Differentials," MPRA Paper 610, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  4. Amelie Constant & Yochanan Shachmurove & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2003. "What Makes an Entrepreneur and Does It Pay?: Native Men, Turks, and Other Migrants in Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 386, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2004. "Entrepreneurial Culture, Regional Innovativeness and Economic Growth," ERSA conference papers ersa04p210, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  6. Block, Joern & Sandner, Philipp, 2006. "The Effect of Motivation on Self-Employment Duration in Germany: Necessity versus Opportunity Entrepreneurs," MPRA Paper 215, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  7. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2007. "Entrepreneurial culture, regional innovativeness and economic growth," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 187-210, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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