Authors: Ufuk Akcigit, Harun Alp, Jeremy Pearce, and Marta Prato
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Staff Reports
Transformative and Subsistence Entrepreneurs: Origins and Impacts on Economic Growth
Number 1166
September 2025
September 2025
JEL classification: O31, O38, O47, J24
This paper studies how individuals sort into entrepreneurship and invention-related occupations and how their interactions shape innovation and economic growth. We develop an endogenous growth model in which occupational sorting jointly determines the supply of R&D talent and entrepreneurs’ demand for it. Empirically, using Danish microdata, we show that transformative entrepreneurs—those who hire R&D workers—tend to have higher IQ and education and build faster-growing firms than other entrepreneurs. Quantitatively, the estimated model indicates that financial barriers to education misallocate talent; alleviating them through education subsidies increases both demand and supply of R&D workers, raising innovation and long-run growth. Broad startup subsidies are ineffective.
Author Disclosure Statement(s)
Ufuk Akcigit
The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
Harun Alp
The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
Jeremy Pearce
The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
Marta Prato
The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
Harun Alp
The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
Jeremy Pearce
The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
Marta Prato
The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
Suggested Citation:
Akcigit, Ufuk, Harun Alp, Jeremy Pearce, and Marta Prato. 2025. “Transformative and Subsistence Entrepreneurs: Origins and Impacts on Economic Growth.” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports, no. 1166, September. https://doi.org/10.59576/sr.1166
Akcigit, Ufuk, Harun Alp, Jeremy Pearce, and Marta Prato. 2025. “Transformative and Subsistence Entrepreneurs: Origins and Impacts on Economic Growth.” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports, no. 1166, September. https://doi.org/10.59576/sr.1166
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