Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/232649 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13897
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We provide a large scale within-country analysis of the effect of language future time reference (FTR) on the choice of being an entrepreneur using individual-level data from Switzerland, a country characterized by a unique long-standing multilingualism and a large share of immigrant population. We test the hypothesis that speakers of weak FTR languages may have a closer perception of future rewards and be more willing to become entrepreneurs, a choice that reflects future orientation. Our analysis consistently indicates that immigrants who speak weak FTR languages are around 2 percent more likely to be entrepreneurs compared to speakers of strong FTR languages, net of unobservable ancestral cultural traits, districts of destination's characteristics, linguistic features other than FTR, and whether individuals maintain their native language or switch to one of the four Swiss languages.
Subjects: 
entrepreneurship
language
future time reference
culture
migration
Switzerland
JEL: 
D15
J24
J6
L26
Z1
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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