Who Starts a Business and Who is Self-Employed in Germany

Michael Fritsch (), Alexander Kritikos and Alina Rusakova ()
Additional contact information
Alina Rusakova: University of Jena
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Alina Sorgner

No 6326, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Based on representative data, the German Micro-Census, we provide an overview of the development of self-employment and entrepreneurship in Germany between 1991 and 2010, the first two decades after reunification. We investigate the socioeconomic background of these individuals, their education, previous employment status, and their income level. We observe a unique increase in self-employment in Germany by 40 percent which can partly be attributed to the transformation process of East Germany and to the shift to the service sector. We notice a yearly start-up rate of 1 percent among the working population (almost 20 percent of them being restarters), a decision that pays for the majority of individuals in terms of income. Contrary to other countries, in Germany there is a positive relationship between educational levels and the probability of starting a business.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; self-employment; start-ups; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2012-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (44)

Published - published in: DIW-Economic Bulletin, 2012, 3, 17-26.

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Working Paper: Who Starts a Business and Who Is Self-Employed in Germany (2012)
Working Paper: Who Starts a Business and who is Self-Employed in Germany (2012)
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