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Unemployment, entrepreneurship and firm outcomes

Author

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  • Joao Galindo da Fonseca

    (Université de Montréal)

Abstract

Are there differences between firms created by unemployed individuals relative to otherwise identical employed individuals? The answer is crucial for understanding the impact of policies that promote entrepreneurship among the unemployed. I develop an equilibrium model of entrepreneurship. Different outside options imply the unemployed are more likely to start firms, but these are smaller and fail more often. I verify these implications using a new administrative Canadian matched owner-employer-employee dataset. I use firm closures to identify random assignments of individuals to unemployment. I find that subsidies for firms started by the unemployed induce a reallocation of resources to low-productivity firms. The mechanism is further tested empirically by verifying that wage workers are more responsive to wages than the unemployed in their decision to start a firm.

Suggested Citation

  • Joao Galindo da Fonseca, 2019. "Unemployment, entrepreneurship and firm outcomes," Cahiers de recherche 2019-04, Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques.
    • Handle: RePEc:mtl:montde:2019-04
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1866/21921
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    Cited by:

    1. Sohail, Faisal, 2021. "From employee to entrepreneur: Learning, employer size, and spinout dynamics," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    2. Karaivanov, Alexander & Yindok, Tenzin, 2022. "Involuntary entrepreneurship – Evidence from Thai urban data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Raunak Gupta, 2024. "Untangling the nexus of entrepreneurship and unemployment: a bibliometric review," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Louis-Philippe Beland & Oluwatobi Fakorede & Derek Mikola, 2020. "Short-Term Effect of COVID-19 on Self-Employed Workers in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 46(S1), pages 66-81, July.
    5. Poschke, Markus, 2025. "Wage employment, unemployment and self-employment across countries," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Herreño, Juan & Ocampo, Sergio, 2023. "The macroeconomic consequences of subsistence self-employment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 91-106.
    7. Muhammad Moiz & Şerife Genç Ileri, 2025. "The Relationship Between Firm Formation and Unemployment: Evidence from Türkiye," Economies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-22, January.
    8. João Galindo da Fonseca & Charles Berubé, 2023. "Spouses, Children, And Entrepreneurship," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(3), pages 1165-1199, August.
    9. da Fonseca, João Galindo & Pannella, Pierluca, 2023. "The housing boom and selection into entrepreneurship," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    10. Audretsch, David B. & Belitski, Maksim & Chowdhury, Farzana & Desai, Sameeksha, 2024. "Regulating entrepreneurship quality and quantity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    11. Nguyen, Thanh Cong & Ho, Thuy Tien, 2025. "Understanding the informal economy: The influence of political ideology during financial crises," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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