Entrepreneurial intentions among youth in MENA countries: effects of gender, education, occupation and income

摘要

Young people have intentions for their vocation. Some have an entrepreneurial intention to start or run an enterprise, whereas others do not have any intention to be an entrepreneur. Young persons' vocational intentions depend on their society and socio-demographic background such as gender, education, occupation, notably unemployment and income. Here we focus on vocational intentions among youth in the MENA countries. We address these questions: 1) What are the effects upon intentions of youth in MENA countries from their socio-demographic background attributes? 2) How are effects differing among the MENA countries? The questions are answered with data on youth surveyed from 2006 to 2013 in Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). In this study, the youth are the people from 18 years of age 34; they are all asked about their vocational intention, gender, education, occupation, income. Our analyses account for intentions as follows. In MENA countries, young people's intention to be entrepreneurs is increased by the socio-demographic factors, namely gender, education, occupation and income. Differences between the 14 MENA countries have been found, and the determinants that affect entrepreneurial intention among youth are not constantly the same in all MENA countries.