Personal Wealth, Self-Employment, and Business Ownership

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bellon, Aymeric; Cookson, J. Anthony; Gilje, Erik P.; Heimer, Rawley Z.
• 署名单位: University of Pennsylvania; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; National Bureau of Economic Research; Boston College
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0893-9454
• DOI: 10.1093/rfs/hhab044
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 3935
• 关键词: WINDFALL GAINS; house prices; entrepreneurship; liquidity; constraints; RISK; decisions

摘要

We study the effect of personal wealth on entrepreneurial decisions using data on mineral payments from Texas shale drilling to individuals throughout the United States. Large cash windfalls increase business formation by 0.8 to 2.1 percentage points, but do not affect transitions to self-employment. By contrast, cash windfalls significantly extend self-employment spells, but do not affect the duration of business ownership. Our findings help reconcile contrasting findings in prior work: liquidity constraints have different effects on entrepreneurial activity that may depend on the entrepreneur's motivations.