Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/250602 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 14941
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Immigrant entrepreneurs are critical to regional and national economies. Immigrants in the USA have higher self-employment rates than natives, and immigrants have made outsized contributions as founders of numerous highly successful firms. However, we document that immigrant self-employment rates vary considerably across areas of the USA. Our main measure is the percentage of immigrant workers in an area who are self-employed; i.e., the self- employment rate for the foreign-born. Areas with colder winter temperatures have especially low self-employment rates among their immigrant populations compared to other areas of the USA. This relationship holds for numerous sub-samples of immigrants and is not driven by any particular group. The relationship persists after controlling for numerous individual and local area characteristics. Immigrant entrepreneurs appear to be especially forward-looking and responsive to warmer January temperature as a locational amenity. The results have important implications about the location choices of immigrant entrepreneurs.
Subjects: 
self-employment
entrepreneurship
immigrants
amenities
temperature
JEL: 
J61
L26
R23
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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