![“Does Career Risk Deter Potential Entrepreneurs?” by Dr. Ting Xu](https://www.hkubs.hku.hk/wp-content/uploads/fly-images/14008/finance-847x560-c.png)
“Does Career Risk Deter Potential Entrepreneurs?” by Dr. Ting Xu
Wednesday, 16 May 2018 | 2:30pm - 4:00pm
KK1121
Finance Seminar
Author:
Ting Xu
University of Virginia
Do potential entrepreneurs remain in wage employment because of the concern that they will face worse job opportunities should their entrepreneurial ventures fail? Using a Canadian reform that extended job-protected leave to one year for women giving birth after a cutoff date, we study whether the option to return to a previous job increases entrepreneurship. A regression discontinuity design reveals that longer job-protected leave increases entrepreneurship by 1.8 percentage points. The results are driven by more educated entrepreneurs, starting firms that survive at least five years and hire paid employees, in industries where experimentation is more valuable.