Aspire

Marcel Fafchamps and Simon Quinn

No 21084, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We gave US$1,000 cash prizes to winners of a business plan competition in Africa. The competition, entitled ‘Aspire’, was intended to attract young individuals aspiring to become entrepreneurs. Participants were ranked by committees of judges composed of established entrepreneurs. Each committee selected one winner among twelve candidates; that winner was awarded a prize of US$1,000 to spend at his or her discretion. Six months after the competition, we compare winners with the two runners-up in each committee: winners are about 33 percentage points more likely to be self-employed. We estimate an average effect on monthly profits of about US$150: an annual profit of 80% on initial investment. Our findings imply that access to start-up capital constitutes a sizable barrier to entry into entrepreneurship for the kind of young motivated individual most likely to succeed in business.

JEL-codes: L26 O12 O16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent and nep-mfd
Note: DEV
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Published as Marcel Fafchamps & Simon Quinn, 2017. "Aspire," The Journal of Development Studies, vol 53(10), pages 1615-1633.

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Journal Article: Aspire (2017)
Working Paper: Aspire (2014)
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