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Cash Constraints and Business Start-Ups: Deutschmarks Versus Dollars

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  • Holtz-Eakin Douglas

    (Syracuse University)

  • Rosen Harvey S

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

In this paper we analyze microdata to explore differences in the rates at which American and German workers leave their salaried jobs to become self-employed. We document that the rate of self-employment is lower in Germany than in the United States, and the rate of transition from wage-earning to self-employment is lower as well. Our results suggest that German workers face liquidity constraints that are more severe than those of their American counterparts and an environment that discourages transitions to self-employment. The difference in transition rates cannot be attributed to observable differences between German and American workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Holtz-Eakin Douglas & Rosen Harvey S, 2005. "Cash Constraints and Business Start-Ups: Deutschmarks Versus Dollars," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-26, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:contributions.4:y:2005:i:1:n:1
    DOI: 10.2202/1538-0645.1029
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    Cited by:

    1. Davud Rostam-Afschar, 2014. "Entry regulation and entrepreneurship: a natural experiment in German craftsmanship," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1067-1101, November.
    2. Blanchflower, David G. & Shadforth, Chris, 2007. "Entrepreneurship in the UK," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 3(4), pages 257-364, July.
    3. Robert W. Fairlie, 2013. "Minority and immigrant entrepreneurs: access to financial capital," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 8, pages 153-175, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Frank M. Fossen, 2007. "Risky Earnings, Taxation and Entrepreneurial Choice: A Microeconometric Model for Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 705, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    5. 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(2), pages 289-323.
    6. Ruth Oyelere & Willie Belton, 2013. "Black–White gap in self-employment. Does intra-race heterogeneity exist?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 25-39, June.
    7. Sauer, Robert M. & Wilson, Tanya, 2016. "The rise of female entrepreneurs: New evidence on gender differences in liquidity constraints," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 73-86.
    8. Frank M. Fossen, 2012. "Gender differences in entrepreneurial choice and risk aversion -- a decomposition based on a microeconometric model," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(14), pages 1795-1812, May.
    9. Sandra E. Black & Philip E. Strahan, 2002. "Entrepreneurship and Bank Credit Availability," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2807-2833, December.
    10. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    11. Nykvist, Jenny, 2005. "Entrepreneurship and Liquidity Constraints: Evidence from Sweden," Working Paper Series 2005:21, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    12. Daniela Glocker & Viktor Steiner, 2007. "Self-Employment - a Way to End Unemployment?: Empirical Evidence from German Pseudo-Panel Data," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 661, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    13. Rafael P. Ribas, 2014. "Liquidity Constraints, Informal Financing, and Entrepreneurship: Direct and Indirect Effects of a Cash Transfer Programme," Working Papers 131, International Policy Centre.
    14. R. Glenn Hubbard & William M. Gentry, 2000. "Tax Policy and Entrepreneurial Entry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 283-287, May.
    15. Robert W. Fairlie & Harry A. Krashinsky, 2012. "Liquidity Constraints, Household Wealth, And Entrepreneurship Revisited," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 58(2), pages 279-306, June.
    16. Kapinos, Pavel & Gurley-Calvez, Tami & Kapinos, Kandice, 2016. "(Un)expected housing price changes: Identifying the drivers of small business finance," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 79-94.
    17. Raquel Fonseca & Simon Lord, 2016. "Les déterminants du travail autonome au Québec et au Canada (1993-2010)," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 92(3), pages 489-513.
    18. Dorothea Schäfer & Oleksandr Talavera, 2006. "Small-Scale Business Survival and Inheritance: Evidence from Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 636, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    19. Robert W. Fairlie, 2013. "Entrepreneurship, Economic Conditions, and the Great Recession," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 207-231, June.
    20. Rafael P. Ribas, 2020. "Liquidity constraints, spillovers, and entrepreneurship: evidence from a cash transfer program," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1131-1158, December.
    21. Raquel Fonseca & Simon Lord, 2015. "Les déterminants du travail autonome au Québec et au Canada (1993-201," Cahiers de recherche 1517, Chaire de recherche Industrielle Alliance sur les enjeux économiques des changements démographiques.
    22. Dorothea Schäfer & Oleksandr Talavera, 2009. "Small business survival and inheritance: evidence from Germany," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 95-109, January.
    23. Jenny Nykvist, 2008. "Entrepreneurship and Liquidity Constraints: Evidence from Sweden," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(1), pages 23-43, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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