Venture creation and the poor: government assistance, education and poverty

Abstract

We examine under which conditions government social assistance translates into new venture creation by recipients, and how do levels of poverty and education affect this relationship. Data on 8808 individuals included in the 2010 Social Protection Evaluation Survey developed by the Dominican Republic government indicate mixed effects of government social assistance, education, and poverty on new venture creation. While government social assistance by itself had no effect, levels of poverty and education played crucial roles in whether people at poorest socioeconomics groups who were receiving government social assistance started new ventures. Our results provide evidence of their venturing behavior for both research and public policy.