Resurrecting Dead Capital: The Sharing Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Job Creation
60 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2018 Last revised: 20 Jul 2021
Date Written: July 16, 2021
Abstract
This paper examines how the sharing economy affects entrepreneurship. Using Airbnb’s penetration across counties as a proxy for the growth of the sharing economy and venture capital infusions interacted with local tourism as an instrument, we find that Airbnb spurs local firm creation. A plausible underlying channel is that Airbnb facilitates short-term rental, which relaxes the financial constraint of potential entrepreneurs. Increases in entrepreneurs’ risk tolerance, enhanced local demand, and increased collateral value caused by Airbnb penetration do not appear to explain our main findings. Our paper sheds new light on the real effects of the sharing economy.
Keywords: Airbnb, sharing economy, entrepreneurship, financial constraints, job creation
JEL Classification: L26, L85, L86, M13
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation