The influence of industrial structure, more specifically of business ownership, is investigated on the level of unemployment in Japan. The question is to what extent business ownership, i.e., entrepreneurship, can reduce the level of unemployment. It will be concluded that Japan is hardly an...

This discussion paper led to the publication in the <I>Journal of Economic Psychology</I> 2012, 33(2), 410-424.<P> In the media role models are increasingly being acknowledged as an influential factor in explaining the reasons for the choice of occupation and career. Various conceptual studies have...</p></i>

The level of entrepreneurship differs considerably across countries and periods. Both thecauses and consequences of entrepreneurship are a matter of extensive scientific debate aswell as of great policy importance. A high level of entrepreneurial activity is assumed andshown to contribute to...

This paper examines the relationship between entrepreneurship (as measured by fluctuations in the business ownership rate) and unemployment in Japan for the period between 1972 and 2002. We find that, although Japan’s unemployment rate has been influenced by specific exogenous shocks, the...

This discussion paper resulted in a publication in <A HREF="http://people.few.eur.nl/vanderzwan/articles/Regional%20Studies%20Ladder%20Europe%20US.pdf">'Regional Studies'</A>, 2013, Volume 47, issue 5, pages 803-825.<P> We investigate which countries have the highest potential to achieve entrepreneurial progress. This progress is defined using an entrepreneurial ladder with five successive steps:...</p></a>

This paper revisits the two-equation model of Carree, van Stel, Thurik and Wennekers (2002) where deviations from the ‘equilibrium’ rate of business ownership play a central role determining both the growth of business ownership and that of economic development. Two extensions of the...

In the present paper we address the relationship between the extentof business ownership (self-employment) and economic development. We will focusupon three issues. First, how is the equilibrium rate of business ownershiprelated to the stage of economic development? Second, what is the speed...

Two approaches can be distinguished with respect to modelling entrepreneurship: (i) the approachfocusing on the net development of the number of entrepreneurs in an equilibrium framework and (ii)the approach focusing on the entries and exits of entrepreneurs. In this paper we unify these...

Institutional barriers to entry were removed to a considerable extent in 1996 in the Dutch retail sector. Three years before that the regulator decided to not take legal actions anymore against entrants violating institutional requirements. In the current analysis we investigate the effects of...