On 19 April at 12:00 in room 2628-211, there will be an OSA seminar by Kylie Hwang, Stanford Graduate School of Business, entitled:

Entrepreneurship as a Bridge to Employment: Evidence from Formerly Incarcerated People

Abstract
Recent studies have found that entrepreneurs are penalized when returning to employment. Such findings are based on the assumption that entrepreneurs choose entrepreneurship over alternative employment opportunities that are available to them, which would raise concerns of lack of fit and commitment to wage-employment. However, a significant share of entrepreneurship is undertaken as a response to labor market discrimination. Then are individuals driven into entrepreneurship by labor market discrimination also penalized in post-entrepreneurship employment outcomes? I argue that for such discriminated populations, entrepreneurship will improve future employment outcomes. Employers perceive post-discrimination entrepreneurship as a signal of greater motivation and competence, and this signal also alleviates concerns regarding fit and commitment. To test this argument, I focus on formerly incarcerated individuals, who are frequently pushed into entrepreneurship due to pervasive labor market discrimination in the United States. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I find that when compared to formerly incarcerated individuals without any entrepreneurial experience, those with entrepreneurial experience have an increased likelihood of securing wage-employment. This holds regardless of entrepreneurial performance and is particularly true for sub-groups that are even more discriminated against by employers, such as high school dropouts or racial minorities. I provide mechanism checks that take advantage of the “Ban-the-Box” policy shocks and occupational licensing bans, and exhibit in-depth interviews with employers and formerly incarcerated individuals.

Everyone is welcome!