Entrepreneurship, Intelligence, self-conficence, and education

I investigate the effect of human capital on entrepreneurship using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - 1979. I find that individuals with higher measured intelligence and self-confidence are more likely to be entrepreneurs. Furthermore I present evidence suggesting that intelligence and self-confidence affect business ownership through two different channels: intelligence increases business survival while self-confidence increases business creation. Finally, once we control for intelligence and self-confidence the effect of formal college education almost completely vanishes. These results are robust to controlling for selection into entrepreneurship and selection into college.

From this new, interesting, and controversial working paper, by Andrea Asoni.