American Economic Review: Insights
ISSN 2640-205X (Print) | ISSN 2640-2068 (Online)
Long-Term and Lasting Impacts of Personal Initiative Training on Entrepreneurial Success
American Economic Review: Insights
(pp. 463–79)
Abstract
A randomized experiment in Togo found that personal initiative training for small businesses resulted in large and significant impacts for both men and women after two years. We revisit these entrepreneurs after seven years and find long-lasting average impacts of personal initiative training of $91-higher profits per month, which is larger than the two-year impacts. However, these long-term impacts are very different for men and women: The impact for men grows over time as they accumulate more capital and increase self-efficacy, whereas the impact for women is flat or declines, and capital buildup is much more limited.Citation
Campos, Francisco, Michael Frese, Leonardo Iacovone, Hillary C. Johnson, David McKenzie, and Mona Mensmann. 2025. "Long-Term and Lasting Impacts of Personal Initiative Training on Entrepreneurial Success." American Economic Review: Insights 7 (4): 463–79. DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20240581Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- L25 Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope
- L26 Entrepreneurship
- M53 Personnel Economics: Training
- O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
- O14 Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology