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Children whose parents were self-employed before China's socialist transformation were more likely to become self-employed after the economic reform, even though they had no direct exposure to their parents' businesses. The effect is statistically significant only for sons. The lack of direct exposure to family businesses impedes the transfer of business human capital and motivates us to explore personality traits as the underlying mechanisms. We find that children with self-employed parents are also more likely to invest in risky assets and to consume cigarettes. This suggests that children of self-employed parents inherit personality traits that induce risky behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustained surge in self-employment since 2000 has largely gone unnoticed by policy makers and economic developers. Here the authors document this surge and identify variables associated with expanding self-employment. Results provide mixed evidence about the importance of capital access to self-employment growth, but reveal that different approaches are needed in different county types depending on their proximity to metro areas and population size, if the goal is to increase future rural self-employment rates. In all county types, the initial share of self-employed predicts self-employment growth, underscoring the importance of a culture favoring entrepreneurship and path dependence. Self-employment earnings and educational attainment also play significant roles, as does the ethnic diversity of the population. Population density matters in both rural and urban counties, but less so within individual rural–urban continuum code categories. State policy, especially labor market freedom, has important effects on self-employment in most county types and periods studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between self-employment and income growth, employment growth, and change in poverty in metro and non-metro areas in the United States using county-level panel data. We investigate the impact of the relative size of the self-employment sector measured by the share of non-farm proprietorships (NFPs) in total full and part-time employment on three key economic performance indicators. We first estimate an income growth model to analyse the effects of self-employment on income growth. Then we investigate the independent effects of self-employment on employment growth and changes in family poverty rates. Our results indicate that higher self-employment rates are associated with statistically significant increases over time in income and employment growth, and reductions in poverty rates in non-metro counties. We find similar effects on metro county income and employment, but not on poverty dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Two powerful socioeconomic innovations are sweeping the nation, led by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Starbucks Corp. These innovations both affect and are driven by profound labor market changes, but exactly how they affect self-employment or entrepreneurship has not been investigated. We examine the independent effects of these phenomena on the returns to self-employment, which is itself an underresearched topic in labor economics. Methods. We apply spatial econometric analysis to data from more than 3,000 U.S. counties to analyze how big-boxes and drinking places that facilitate social networking affect self-employment earnings. Findings. The presence of Wal-Mart stores is associated with higher returns to self-employment, whereas the results for coffee shops and drinking places are mixed. A negative interaction effect on earnings emerges when Wal-Mart stores and drinking places exist in the same county. Conclusions. We confirm both Schumpeter's and Putnam's assertions about the importance of creative destruction and social networking in raising the productivity of entrepreneurs, although the latter effect is not as clear-cut as the former. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the surging interest in entrepreneurship as an economic development strategy, studies of the independent relationship between proprietorship formations and job growth are virtually nonexistent. We find that self-employment or proprietorship rates are associated with faster job growth in the wage-and-salary sector, and the effect is statistically significant. The relative magnitude of this effect varies with the business cycle, being stronger during economic expansions and weaker during contractions. Further, the effect is stronger in metropolitan than in non-metropolitan counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]