Who are China's Entrepreneurs?

9 Pages Posted: 29 Mar 2006

See all articles by Simeon Djankov

Simeon Djankov

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE); Peterson Institute for International Economics

Yingyi Qian

Tsinghua University - School of Economics & Management; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Gérard Roland

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Ekaterina Zhuravskaya

Paris School of Economics (PSE)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: December 2005

Abstract

It has been increasingly recognized that entrepreneurs play a crucial role in successful economies. Yet research on entrepreneurs is rather limited. In this paper we study 414 Chinese entrepreneurs and 561 Chinese non-entrepreneurs with similar age and education characteristics. We find that entrepreneurs differ strongly from non-entrepreneurs in their attitude towards risk and their work-leisure preferences, echoing Schumpeter. Entrepreneurs are much more likely to have family members who were entrepreneurs as well as childhood friends who became entrepreneurs. Finally, failed entrepreneurs score the worst on aptitude tests yet have the best self-reported performance in school.

Keywords: China, entrepreneurs

JEL Classification: M13, P50

Suggested Citation

Djankov, Simeon and Qian, Yingyi and Roland, Gérard and Zhuravskaya, Ekaterina, Who are China's Entrepreneurs? (December 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=893324 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.893324

Simeon Djankov (Contact Author)

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

Peterson Institute for International Economics ( email )

1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States

Yingyi Qian

Tsinghua University - School of Economics & Management

Beijing, 100084
China

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Gérard Roland

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics ( email )

549 Evans Hall #3880
Berkeley, CA 94720-3880
United States
510-642-4321 (Phone)
510-642-6615 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Ekaterina Zhuravskaya

Paris School of Economics (PSE) ( email )

48 Boulevard Jourdan
Paris, 75014 75014
France

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