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Cultural diversity and entrepreneurship in England and Wales

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  • Andres Rodríguez-Pose
  • Daniel Hardy

Abstract

British regions are becoming increasingly culturally diverse, with migration as the main driver. Does this diversity benefit local economies? This research examines the impact of cultural diversity on the entrepreneurial performance of UK regions. We focus on two largely overlooked factors, the measurement of diversity, and the skills composition of diverse populations. First, more that demonstrating the importance of cultural diversity for entrepreneurship, we show that the type of cultural diversity measured is a decisive factor. Second, the skill composition of diverse populations is also key. Diversity amongst the ranks of the highly skilled exerts the strongest impact upon start-up intensities. The empirical investigation employs spatial regression techniques and carriers out several robustness checks, including instrumental variables specifications, to corroborate our findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Andres Rodríguez-Pose & Daniel Hardy, 2014. "Cultural diversity and entrepreneurship in England and Wales," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1423, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Nov 2014.
  • Handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:1423
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    Cited by:

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    2. Christopher J. Boudreaux, 2020. "Ethnic diversity and small business venturing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 25-41, January.
    3. Roxana Gutiérrez-Romero, 2023. "Businesses create more jobs in countries with higher share of immigrants because of skill complementarity," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 13(1), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Christos, Genakos & Kaplanis, Ioannis & Tagaraki, Maria Theano & Tsakanikas, Aggelos, 2023. "Firm resilience and growth during the economics crisis: lessons from the Greek depression," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 119705, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Dheer, Ratan J.S. & Lenartowicz, Tomasz, 2020. "Effect of generational status on immigrants’ intentions to start new ventures: The role of cognitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(3).
    6. Carlo Corradini, 2019. "Location determinants of green technological entry: evidence from European regions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 845-858, April.
    7. Georgios Fotopoulos & David J. Storey, 2019. "Public policies to enhance regional entrepreneurship: another programme failing to deliver?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 189-209, June.
    8. Zhiling Wang & Thomas de Graaff & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Barriers of Culture, Networks, and Language in International Migration: A Review," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 5, pages 73-89.
    9. Brunow, Stephan & Birkeneder, Antonia & Rodriguez-Pose, Andrés, 2017. "Creative and science oriented employees and firm innovation : a key for smarter cities?," IAB-Discussion Paper 201724, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    10. Christos Genakos & Ioannis Kaplanis & Maria Theano Tagaraki & Aggelos Tsakanikas, 2023. "Firm Resilience and Growth during the Economics Crisis: lessons from the Greek depression," GreeSE – Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe 186, Hellenic Observatory, LSE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; cultural diversity; high-skilled migration; knowledge spillovers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

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