The focus of this paper is on the choice of the unemployed between becoming an entrepreneur or not. It contributes to the literature by empirically investigating two hitherto neglected issues: What is the impact of risk aversion and personal contact with a role model in shaping the decision to...

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...

This paper tests the theory recently put forward by Edward Lazear that individuals with competence in many skills should have a higher probability of being self-employed than others. The empirical results for Germany support this jack-of-all-trades view.

This paper uses firm level data from the World Bank Enterprise surveys conducted in 2019 and from the COVID-19 follow-up surveys conducted in 2020 in eight European countries to investigate the link between exporting before the pandemic and firm survival until 2020. The estimated effect of...

This paper uses firm level data from the World Bank Enterprise surveys conducted in 2019 and from the COVID-19 follow-up surveys conducted in 2020 in eight European countries to investigate the link between exporting before the pandemic and firm survival until 2020. The estimated effect of...

This paper uses firm level data from the World Bank Enterprise surveys conducted in 2019 and from the COVID-19 follow-up surveys conducted in 2020 in ten European countries to investigate the link between the gender of the firm's owner and firm survival until 2020.The estimated effect of female...

This paper uses firm level data from the World Bank Enterprise surveys conducted in 2019 and from the COVID-19 follow-up surveys conducted in 2020 in ten European countries to investigate the link between having a website before the pandemic and firm survival until 2020 .The estimated effect of...

Presence on the web tends to be important for firms. Empirical studies show that firms with a better performance along various dimensions, and firms that are more internationally active, tend to have a website. Furthermore, a website helped firms to survive in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. An...

This paper uses firm level data from World Bank Enterprise surveys conducted in 2019, and COVID-19 follow-up surveys conducted in 2020, in ten European countries to investigate the link between the gender of the firm's owner and the firm's survival until 2020. The empirical investigation uses...

A presence on the web tends to be important for firms. Empirical studies show that firms with a better performance across various dimensions, and firms that are more internationally active, tend to have a website. Furthermore, a website helped firms to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. An...