Entrepreneurship Education and Self-Employment

This research explores the relation between entrepreneurship education and self-employment. The direct relation is investigated, but the potential mediating role of perceived barriers to entrepreneurship is also taken into account. For this, individual-level data of the 2009 Flash Eurobarometer No 283 is used; which contains data on 32 European countries, the United States, South Korea, Japan and China. Entrepreneurship education is measured by education that raises interest for becoming an entrepreneur, and by education that provides skills and know-how for running a business. Evidence to support the positive relation between entrepreneurship education and being self-employed is found. It is also found that some perceived barriers to entrepreneurship can serve as mediators in this relation. Implications of the findings and limitations of this research are discussed.