Enterpreneurial Interest, Vision and the Self-Employment Choice Decisions in UK Regions

Abstract

This paper takes a standard model of self-employment choice and extends it to allow for differences in the potential for self-employment amongst employees. Both the standard model and the ‘sequential’ model are estimated on a UK dataset, with allowance for regional variations. The sequential model offers some distinct advantages through the separation of the determinants of interest from the idea and firm formation decisions. The results have implications for national and regional entrepreneurship policy because they reveal a clear distinction between the factors governing interest in entrepreneurship and those influencing start-up from within the interested group.