People who grew up near a lot of startups are more likely to become entrepreneurs as adults, according to a study led by Luigi Guiso at the Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance. Using the broad definition of entrepreneur (one that includes the self-employed), the researchers looked at two datasets on Italian workers. They found that a one-standard-deviation increase in a location’s entrepreneurial firm density is associated with a 1.5-percentage-point increased likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur for those who grew up there. Conditional on becoming entrepreneurs, the same individuals are also more likely to be successful entrepreneurs, as measured by business income or firm productivity. A one-standard-deviation increase in firm density in the place you grew up also results in an 8% higher income. And firms run by entrepreneurs who grew up in areas with higher firm density have a higher total factor productivity and higher output per worker. These results support the view that entrepreneurial capabilities are at least partly learnable through social contacts, suggest the researchers.
Source: Learning Entrepreneurship From Other Entrepreneurs?
