Cultural background, human capital and self-employment rates among immigrants in Norway

The level of self-employment varies significantly among immigrants from different countries of origin. The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between national culture, human capital in the form of educational attainment in the country of origin and self-employment rates among first-generation immigrants in Norway. Empirical secondary data on self-employment among immigrants from 53 countries residing in Norway in 2004 was used. Five different hypotheses were developed and tested using hierarchical regression analysis. The findings suggest that immigrants from countries with low power distance are more likely to become self-employed. However, other dimensions of cultural attributes, such as the home-country's uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity and individualism/collectivism were not significantly associated with immigrants’ self-employment rate. Finally, and most notably, the average educational attainment in the country of origin was found to be significantly positively associated with self-employment among immigrants. The study concludes with practical implications and suggestions for future research.