Do individuals’ risk and time preferences predict entrepreneurial choice?

This study seeks to estimate whether individuals’ risk and time preferences are predictive of self employment status and entry. Prior Work: The low risk aversion of those who are self employed is well established in theory and empirical evidence, there is less evidence however on whether risk seeking in existing employees predicts future self employment entry and virtually no empirical research on the links between time preference and self employment. Approach: This study uses a quantitative approach by estimating a series of statistical models that estimate the relationship between an individuals’ risk and time preferences and whether they are (or subsequently become) self employed using a national longitudinal dataset. Results: We find that the self employed are more likely to have low risk aversion. When restricting our analysis to those who are initially employees we find that , low risk aversion combined with a preference for short term gains are most predictive of a transition into self employment. Implications and Value: This study informs the general question as to whether entrepreneurship is linked to personality traits with new evidence on the link between risk and time preference and self employment entry, in doing so it points towards attitudes toward risk and time preference that need to be encouraged if entrepreneurship is to be developed within countries and firms.