Is Entrepreneurship Teachable? A Comprehensive Evaulation of Entrepreneurship Education and Training

Abstract

Entrepreneurship and new business creation is increasingly regarded as an effective engine of development that can provide new employment and wealth. Among other mechanisms, policymakers have fostered entrepreneurial rates through the promotion of entrepreneurship education (EE). Despite the growing number and funding of entrepreneurship education programs (EEPs) in government agencies, universities and chambers of commerce, little research has been done on how effective these programs are in promoting entrepreneurship. I contribute to the present literature by evaluating the effect of EE on entrepreneurial intent, activity and success using a comprehensive, 38-country wide dataset from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2008 Adult Population Survey. I find that EE slightly increases the likelihood of individuals' entrepreneurial intent by 1.4%, while it increases their chances of being successful by 2%. There is strong evidence that EE indirectly affects new venture creation by first influencing individual attitudes toward entrepreneurship. Adding country-fixed effects to the baseline regression form reveals that country-specific factors are a major determinant of entrepreneurship, overriding any possible effect of EE.