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Journal Articles Journal of Business Venturing Year : 2014

The entrepreneurial earnings puzzle: Mismeasurement or real?

Abstract

A review of recent evidence on relative earnings from entrepreneurship versus wage work presents a puzzle: why do individuals become entrepreneurs when entrepreneurs on average apparently earn less than employees? After considering several potential explanations, we empirically analyze one: income underreporting by entrepreneurs. Using a nationwide panel survey representing U.S. households over 15 years, we estimate that entrepreneurs on average earn 4% less per year than employees. However, after correcting for income underreporting, the mean financial gain to entrepreneurship is positive and large, greater than 42%. However, we show that this estimate is built on some unpalatable model assumptions.
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Dates and versions

hal-00829057 , version 1 (01-06-2013)

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Thomas B. Astebro, Jing Chen. The entrepreneurial earnings puzzle: Mismeasurement or real?. Journal of Business Venturing, 2014, 29 (1), pp.88-105. ⟨10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.04.003⟩. ⟨hal-00829057⟩

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