Entrepreneurship and the gig economy: Evidence from US tax returns

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Denes, Matthew; Lagaras, Spyridon; Tsoutsoura, Margarita
• 署名单位: Carnegie Mellon University; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Washington University (WUSTL); Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; European Corporate Governance Institute; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2025.104156
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Entrepreneurship; Gig economy; experimentation; learning; Tax data

摘要

Platform intermediation of goods and services has considerably transformed the U.S. economy. We use administrative data on U.S. tax returns to study the role of the gig economy on entrepreneurship. We find that gig workers are more likely to become entrepreneurs, particularly those who are lower income, younger, and benefit from flexibility. We track all newly created firms and show that gig workers start firms in similar industries as their gig experience, which are less likely to survive and demonstrate higher performance. Overall, our findings suggest on-the-job learning promotes entrepreneurial entry and shifts the types of firms started by entrepreneurs.