Although comprehensive data from official statistics on new firm formation and entrepreneurs starting a new business are lacking in Germany, we know from empirical studies that entry rates differ between regions, and that the propensity to become an entrepreneur is influenced by...

Folklore has it that the comparatively low proportion of self-employed in Germany is in part due to a habit that might be termed 'stigmatisation of failure': taking a second chance to build one's own firm after failing as a self-employed is said to be much more difficult here than in other...