Identifying Potential Entrepreneurs: Evidence from Brazil

Who are the potential entrepreneurs that should be targeted in the economy? In this project we explore the Brazilian economy, for which we gained access to ample data on employees. We will try to identify who are the entrepreneurs that are likely to respond to opportunity shocks and take advantage of it by starting a new firm. We plan to examine the individual characteristics of these marginal entrepreneurs: what is their skill set, previous pay, access to finance, education, seniority in existing companies, employment status, gender, and other characteristics? How do individual characteristics interact with exiting firm characteristics and regional characteristics? In this data-intensive study, our goal is to understand which individuals, and under which circumstances, decide to become entrepreneurs, and who are the individuals that ultimately start a successful and sustained business.