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Who becomes an entrepreneur after university? Evidence from Canada

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  • Creso Sá
  • Summer Cowley
  • Aisha Husain

Abstract

In recent decades there has been significant interest among policy makers in supporting entrepreneurship among university students, with the goal to improve labor market outcomes and contribute to the economy through venture creation. Drawing from the 2018 National Graduate Survey in Canada, our study examines who engages in entrepreneurial activity after graduation, investigating differences among demographic groups and between those who participated in entrepreneurship education on campus and those who did not participate. We find that those graduates who participated in entrepreneurship education are more likely to be self-employed and own their own business three years after graduating than the general population of university graduates. We also find differences according to gender, citizenship, and socio-economic status in entrepreneurial activity. Our results are consistent with previous studies documenting demographic disparities in entrepreneurship and provide more generalizable evidence about the relationship between entrepreneurship education and subsequent entrepreneurship.

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  • Creso Sá & Summer Cowley & Aisha Husain, 2025. "Who becomes an entrepreneur after university? Evidence from Canada," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0308949
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308949
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alain Fayolle & Hans Landström & William B. Gartner & Karin Berglund, 2016. "The institutionalization of entrepreneurship : Questioning the status quo and re-gaining hope for entrepreneurship research," Post-Print hal-02311947, HAL.
    2. 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.
    3. Oliver Masakure, 2015. "Education and entrepreneurship in Canada: evidence from (repeated) cross-sectional data," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 693-712, December.
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