ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIGINS - A LONGITUDINAL INQUIRY

Ever since Schumpeter identified the ''animal spirits'' of entrepreneu rs as the driving force of markets, researchers have been trying to de termine who is an entrepreneur and what factors breed entrepreneurial success. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, w e first determine who pursues self-employment in their youth, and then who succeeds. There is a surprisingly high incidence of self-employme nt, but very low success rates. Significant correlates of both entry i nto self-employment and eventual success differ markedly by gender.