Effects of immigration on native entrepreneurship in the US: an analysis of self-employment over 1980–2018

Bulent Unel ()
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Bulent Unel: Louisiana State University

Small Business Economics, 2025, vol. 64, issue 2, No 21, 755-773

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines the causal impact of immigration on entrepreneurship among US-born non-Hispanic whites in non-agricultural private sectors from 1980 to 2018. Using self-employment as a proxy for entrepreneurship and distinguishing between incorporated individuals and unincorporated self-employed workers, I find a sizable negative impact of immigration on native self-employment. Importantly, this effect is consistent across incorporated and unincorporated self-employment and remains robust across demographic groups based on gender, age, and education. Results are robust to the choice of controls and estimation methods.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Immigration; Self-employment; Shift-share instrument (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J15 J16 J24 J61 L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11187-024-00914-2

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