Women's choice to pursue self-employment: The role of financial and human capital of household members

The present study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Labor Market Experience (NLSLME) to investigate the effects of the financial and human capital resources available to a woman in her household on her choice between entrepreneurship and wage employment. The study found that (1) while higher levels of the husbands' earnings from self-employment greatly increased the likelihood of the women being self-employed the husbands' earnings from wages had no impact; (2) the husbands' business knowledge and experience greatly contributed to the women being self-employed; (3) the presence of young children and the husbands' provision of child care also contributed to women being self-employed; (4) marital status per se had no impact on the women's employment choice; and (5) there were no potential financial and human capital effects for other adults in the household.