Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/84869 
Year of Publication: 
2012
Series/Report no.: 
Darmstadt Discussion Papers in Economics No. 210
Publisher: 
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Department of Law and Economics, Darmstadt
Abstract: 
This paper investigates whether entrepreneurs with technical education are more innovative in high-tech industries than economists. The main contribution to the literature is in using the type of education as main explanatory variable for innovation. To analyze this question, the KfW/ZEW Start-Up Panel between 2005 and 2007 is used. Two independent OLS regressions are conducted for entrepreneurs with university degree and practical education. The results suggest that education matters for individuals with a university degree in high-tech industries but not for people with practical education. Having an economics degree is correlated with higher innovativeness. Therefore, for the underlying sample we do not find a nerd effect. The results depend on the underlying definition of innovation, as robustness checks show.
Subjects: 
entrepreneurship
innovation
education
JEL: 
A20
L26
O32
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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