Troublemakers or Entrepreneurs?
A study by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor showed that the United States was unusual among developed countries is having a higher business start- up rate among its 18- to 24-year-olds than its 35- to 44-year-olds. Tyler Cowen, a contributing writer to the New York Times, recently posed the question, "Why has America produced so many successful young entrepreneurs?" Some of his findings are listed below. American youths are so successful at entrepreneurship in part because
so many older and wealthier people are willing to help them. The broader
American success at philanthropy lays the groundwork for American entrepreneurship.
Americans tend to have a looser network of friends and family, but Americans
are more willing to help relative strangers, and this often helps business. The fact that American schooling is less disciplined than that in other
countries gives young creators the time and the energy to accomplish
something outside their formal education. American children are more
likely to be working on their own projects, rather than being directed
by parents and elders. It is a common American dream to want to start one's own business,
This can be a driving force behind some young entrepreneurs. One American
teen commented, "If starting a business wasn't 'cool', I doubt very
many teens would partake." It is well known that American companies have been the most successful at turning information technology into productivity advantages. In part, this is because of American success in mobilizing young talent. On a national level, these successes are rooted in the commercial, competitive, philanthropic, nonegalitarian and open nature of American society. America's economic head start probably won't go away anytime soon. |