Publications
Publications
- 2016
- HBS Working Paper Series
Immigrant Entrepreneurship
By: Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr
Abstract
We examine immigrant entrepreneurship and the survival and growth of immigrant-founded businesses over time relative to native-founded companies. Our work quantifies immigrant contributions to new firm creation in a wide variety of fields using multiple definitions. While significant research effort has gone into understanding the economic impact of immigration into the United States, comprehensive data for quantifying immigrant entrepreneurship are difficult to assemble. We combine several restricted-access U.S. Census Bureau data sets to create a unique longitudinal data platform that covers 1992–2008 and many states. We describe differences in the types of businesses initially formed by immigrants and their medium-term growth patterns. We also consider the relationship of these outcomes to the immigrants' age at arrival to the United States.
Keywords
Immigrants; Entrepreneurs; Entry; Firms; Growth; High-tech Marketing; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Immigration; United States
Citation
Kerr, Sari Pekkala, and William R. Kerr. "Immigrant Entrepreneurship." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-011, July 2016. (NBER Working Paper Series, No. 22385, July 2016.)