Entrepreneurship and economic performance : the impact of new firm formation on regional development and individual behavior

The main objective of the thesis is to contribute to the field of entrepreneurship in the areas of new firm formation, regional economic development and individual behavior. First, the results indicate that regional new firm formation activity is path-dependent over time. The main factors that determine the level and the development of regional new firm formation are the entrepreneurial culture and the level of innovation activity. Second, the empirical analyses show that entrepreneurship is a source of regional economic development. New firms have a long term employment effects and new firms serve as a conduit for knowledge spillovers. Third, the entrepreneurial environment may influence the individual decision to start a business. The empirical analyses are carried out on the regional and individual level. This thesis uses the establishment file of the IAB and the SOEP dataset for the empirical analyses.