Entrepreneurship and the Gig Economy: Evidence from U.S. Tax Returns

Matthew R. Denes, Spyridon Lagaras and Margarita Tsoutsoura

No 33347, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Platform intermediation of goods and services has considerably transformed the U.S. economy. We use administrative data on U.S. tax returns to study the role of the gig economy on entrepreneurship. We find that gig workers are more likely to become entrepreneurs, particularly those who are lower income, younger, and benefit from flexibility. We track all newly created firms and show that gig workers start firms in similar industries as their gig experience, which are less likely to survive and demonstrate higher performance. Overall, our findings suggest on-the-job learning promotes entrepreneurial entry and shifts the types of firms started by entrepreneurs.

JEL-codes: G30 J21 J22 J24 L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-cfn, nep-hrm, nep-ino, nep-lma, nep-pbe, nep-pub, nep-sbm and nep-tid
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