Making the Case for Entrepreneur’s Starting Age as a Relevant Variable for Economic Growth

Abstract

Youth entrepreneurship has been on the agenda of policymakers for many years. Its economic importance is usually attributed to creating an alternative career option and, therefore, reducing unemployment among younger people. In this paper, we discuss a different benefit of supporting young entrepreneurs, namely, its positive impact on economic growth. The body of knowledge presently discussed draws from resource-based and real options theories. This theoretical discussion supports the paper’s main argument that entrepreneurs who start earlier creating their first businesses have greater chances of making above-average contributions to economic growth by both the number and the characteristics of their entrepreneurial ventures. Finally, derived from this main argument, new research propositions are detailed, suggesting new avenues for future research on the entrepreneurs’ starting age.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Starting age, Economic growth

JEL Classification: J13, J68, L26, O40