Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Naudé, Wim
Author-Email: naude@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT/MGSoG, University of Maastricht, and Maastricht
	 School of Management
Author-Name: Amoros, José Ernesto
Author-Email: eamoros@udd.cl
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Business and Economics, Universidad del Desarrollo,
	 Santiago, Chile
Author-Name: Cristi, Oscar
Author-Email: ocristi@udd.cl
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Business and Economics, Universidad del Desarrollo,
	 Santiago, Chile
Title: "Surfeiting, the appetite may sicken": Entrepreneurship and the happiness of 
	 nations
Abstract: We know that entrepreneurs - at least those driven by opportunities - 
	 can contribute to economic growth, productivity improvements and 
	 competitiveness in national economies.. But do they contribute to 
	 happiness on the country level? In other words, does the happiness of 
	 nations depend on its entrepreneurs? And what about happy nations - are 
	 they better places for entrepreneurs to start-up new businesses? In this 
	 paper we survey the literature on entrepreneurship and happiness, and 
	 use various data sources, including from the Global Entrepreneurship 
	 Monitor, to find tentative evidence of an inverse U-shape relationship 
	 between (opportunity) entrepreneurship and national happiness. We find 
	 little evidence that a nation's happiness drives early-stage 
	 entrepreneurial activity but we do find evidence that 
	 opportunity-motivated entrepreneurs in happier nations may be less 
	 concerned with high firm growth. Thus we conclude that 
	 opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship may contribute to a nation's 
	 happiness, but only up to a point. Not everybody should become 
	 entrepreneurs, and the happiness of a nation cannot be indefinitely 
	 increased by boosting the numbers of opportunity entrepreneurs. 
Classification-JEL: I31, M13, O50
Keywords: Happiness, entrepreneurship, self-employment, life and job satisfaction,
	 development, subjective wellbeing, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 2012
Number: 013
File-URL: http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2012/wp2012-013.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2012013