Although many coin the United States as “the land of opportunity,” recent research suggests the country does not provide the level of opportunity that many imagined it to have. Research related to the underlying factors behind this lack of opportunity revealed that economic mobility in the United States is impacted by residential segregation, income inequality, school quality, social capital, and family stability. To date, researchers in the United States have yet to explore the potential impact of entrepreneurship—known to be a promoter of economic growth, job creation, and wealth accumulation—on mobility despite a vast body of international literature surrounding the mobility-entrepreneurship relationship. This study finds a significant relationship between entrepreneurship and economic mobility in America by examining the relationship on a county level across the United States.
Author: Ryan R. Herron, Class of 2020
Advisor: Larry Chavis, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School