WASHINGTON, D.C. –A study released today by the Office of Advocacy showed that early exposure to self-employment increases individuals’ engagement in self- employment during their early- and mid-career years. The study also found that a younger subgroup  has much higher self-employment rates than an older subgroup when the two are compared by age 23. This increase is driven by recent increases in Black and Hispanic self-employment, and to a lesser extent by female self-employment.

The report titled A Longitudinal Analysis of Early Self-employment in the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSYs) (http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs367tot.pdf) by Yasuyo Abe and Hannah Betesh, Berkeley Policy Associates and A. Rupa Datta, at University of Chicago found that there is a strong positive link between an indicator of self- employment during ages 20-22 and the self-employment outcome measures in ages 22-41. In addition, total self-employment years are positively cor­related with economic outcomes, measured in terms of family income, the individual’s own income, and family net worth. An additional year of self-employ­ment increases the level of income and net worth significantly.

“This study helps us understand the dynamics of self-employment, which better helps us understand individual entrepreneurship in the beginning of a person’s career,” said Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy Susan M. Walthall. “It also analyzes the characteristics of those who have chosen self-employment as career.”