The theory proposed below is that entrepreneurs are jacks-of-all-trades who may not excel in any one skill, but are competent in many. A coherent model of the choice to become an entrepreneur is presented. The primary implication is that individuals with balanced skills should be more likely...

Using a large representative German data set and various concepts of self-employment, this paper tests the "jack-of-all-trades" view of entrepreneurship by Lazear (AER 2004). Consistent with its theoretical assumptions we find that self-employed individuals perform more tasks and that their work...

A theory is proposed that individuals with a'balanced' set of skills are more likely to become entrepreneurs thanindividuals with specializations. A model of occupational choice whichsupports this theory is presented.The model also predicts that the uppertail of the income distribution is fatter...

The entrepreneur assembles the necessary human,physical, and information resources in an efficient manner to create a newproduct or an existing one at a lower or competitive cost. It is hypothesizedthat while entrepreneurs differ from specialists who have a comparativeadvantage in a single...

Entrepreneurship requires energy and creativity as well as business acumen. Some factors that contribute to entrepreneurship may decline with age, but business skills increase with experience in high level positions. Having too many older workers in society slows entrepreneurship. Older workers...