This paper proposes that risk aversion encourages individuals to invest in balanced skillprofiles, making them more likely to become entrepreneurs. By not having taken this possiblelinkage into account, previous research has underestimated the impacts both of risk aversionand balanced skills on...

This paper employs United States Census data to study the occupational allocation ofimmigrants. The data reveal that the occupational shares of various ethnic groups havegrown drastically in regional labor markets over the period 1980 to 2000. We examine theextent to which this growth can be...

Standard economic models which focus on pecuniary payoffs cannot explain why there arehighly able individuals who choose careers with low pecuniary returns. Therefore, financialincentives are unlikely to be effective in influencing career choices of these individuals.Based on Akerlof and Kranton...

This paper identifies several distortions which create barriers to entrepreneurship. First, inaddition to the innate entry cost, there are entry costs caused by regulation. Second, unionwage policies raise the opportunity cost of entrepreneurship...<BR>

Channeling human resources into the right occupations has historically been a key toeconomic prosperity. Occupational choices are not only driven by the material rewardsassociated with the various occupations, but also by the esteem that they confer...