The Rise of Urban Entrepreneurs in China: Capital Endowments and Entry Dynamics

The rapid expansion of self-employment has accompanied the rise of a market economy in urban China. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the state-owned enterprises' share of the country's gross domestic product has declined from over 90 percent in 1978 to below 50 percent in 2005. Urban entrepreneurship and self-employment is an emerging force that is shaping the economic and physical form of Chinese cities but is...