Does globalization affect perceptions about entrepreneurship? The role of economic development

Drawing on the World Economic Forum’s goals of inclusive growth, we analyze whether globalization imbues confidence to engage in entrepreneurship in countries at different stages of economic development. We focus on the association between globalization and three core perceptions about entrepreneurship—the perceived presence of good opportunities to start a business in the local area, perceived skills and abilities to start a business, and fear of failure prevents one from starting a business. Using a combination of individual-level data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (1,752,636 individuals) and country-level data from the KOF Swiss Economic Institute and World Bank (103 countries) from the years 2001 to 2016, we find that globalization negatively impacts the perceived opportunities for entrepreneurship. However, globalization does not meaningfully change perceived entrepreneurial skills or fear of failure. Interaction analyses further show that the economic development of a country moderates the effect of globalization on perceived opportunities. The findings highlight that the role of globalization in improving perceptions towards entrepreneurship is partly conditional on the stage of economic development of a country.

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