2009 Reports

Nature or Nurture? Factors of Entrepreneurship: a Comparative Approach

Tortella, Gabriel; Quiroga, Gloria; Moral-Arce, Ignacio

There is an ongoing discussion about whether entrepreneurship is basically an innate gift or whether education has a traceable effect on the quality and success of entrepreneurs. This paper tries to put these hypotheses to test by means of a comparison of English and Spanish businessmen. Based on a large database, and using descriptive analysis and econometric tests it shows that although the educational systems in both countries are quite different, entrepreneurs respond to the quantity and quality of education they have received.