Research

Draft available upon request

I study the role of entrepreneurship in fostering upward mobility using Norwegian administrative data on 26,970 entrepreneurs and matched non-entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs gain 6.4 percentile points beyond their parents five years after entry, but roughly half of this gap already exists before they become entrepreneurs suggesting strong selection and treatment effects. However, the post-entry gains are substantial, and the returns vary sharply by parental background and education. Middle class entrepreneurs see the strongest upward mobility, while wealthy entrepreneurs preserve their wealth. Low education entrepreneurs advance the most in relative terms, but are the least likely to reach the top. Mobility is weakest for entrepreneurs with a business education, while the strongest for entrepreneurs with technical education.

Presented at: AFA PhD Poster Session 2024, Nordic Finance Network PhD Seminar 2023

I study individuals who become entrepreneurs following an industry downturn using the massive decline in oil prices in 2014. I find that the oil price decline resulted in increased entrepreneurial activity among oil workers in Norway. Compared to entrepreneurs without an oil industry background who started new firms in the years 2015 and 2016, I find that such `entrepreneurs of circumstance' run more profitable firms. They also tend to originate from lower income levels within their respective companies compared to entrepreneurs who started firms prior to the oil price drop. Notably, the difference in profitability between entrepreneurs with and without previous oil experience is unique to the cohort of firms founded after the oil price drop.