The Effect of Ability on Young Men’s Self-Employment Decision: Evidence from the NELS

Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study data, we examine the role of pre-market abilities, as well as other determinants, on young men’s self-employment decision. Our results indicate that cognitive and noncognitive abilities are two important, in opposing directions, predictors of self-employment. We also find that cognitive and noncognitive abilities differ in their malleability with the latter being more malleable during adolescence. In addition, having a self-employed father, being black and family size exert large influences on self-employment probability.