Geographies of entrepreneurship: non-farm proprietorship employment by U.S. metropolitan area-the key predictors

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Shaylee Renee Bowen (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Keith Debbage

Abstract: The entrepreneurial process is the result of the interaction between the individual entrepreneur and the surrounding environment or entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is heterogeneously endowed with knowledge, institutions, resources, and demand for products. Such a perspective raises an important policy question: Are metropolitan areas with disproportionally high shares of entrepreneurs or self-employed people systematically linked to particular attributes of the entrepreneurial eco-system or support system? In this paper non-farm proprietorship (NFP) employment data is utilized as a proxy for entrepreneurship. To examine the spatial patterns of NFP employment by MSA, data on the percent share of NFP employment relative to total employment was collected for 356 MSAs. It is hypothesized that NFP employment by MSA will be linked to both key predictor variables that capture higher qualities of life and access to capital (i.e., opportunity-based entrepreneurship) and, on the other hand, underperforming entrepreneurial eco-systems featuring poorly educated labor pools and high unemployment rates (i.e., necessity driven self-employment). Based primarily on previous research, 26 independent variables were amassed according to their expected relationships with NFP employment. Data on all independent variables was obtained from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ultimately, it was determined that NFP employment by MSA seems to be best explained by metro-wide ecosystems that have a high percent FIRE, median age, percent Hispanic, and median home value.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2016
Keywords
Capital Access, Entrepreneurship, Geography, Necessity Self Employment, Non Farm Proprietorship, Opportunity Entrepreneurship
Subjects
Entrepreneurship $z United States
Sole proprietorship $z United States
Urban economics $z United States
Metropolitan areas $x Economic aspects $z United States
United States $x Economic conditions $x Regional disparities

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