The role of the financial system in entrepreneurship trends in the European Union

Abstract

The current study examines the effects of financial systems and instruments on entrepreneurship trends and activities in the European Union member states. Results from panel data econometric procedures exhibit that financial markets and instruments exert statistically significant effects on the volume of both male and female entrepreneurial activities in the union. Results show that financial system mainly impacts male and female entrepreneurial intentions rather than their early stage entrepreneurial activities; furthermore, entrepreneurial intentions and activities are negatively linked to the financial system, which might be due to the lack of access to finance and regulatory barriers among the others, which are outlined at the end of this study.