Does Self-Employment Foster Regional Economic Performance? Evidence from Four Post-Socialist Countries¹
Does Self-Employment Foster Regional Economic Performance? Evidence from Four Post-Socialist Countries¹

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the interaction between self-employment (as a proxy for entrepreneurial capital) and per capita real gross domestic product (as a measure of economic performance) across 37 regions in four Visegrád Group (V4) countries. Using a system of two simultaneous spatial panel data equations, the study analyzes aggregate regional data from 2001 to 2020 to explore the links between entrepreneurial activity and regional economic performance, and to identify the determinants of this relationship. A mutual positive correlation is found between self-employment and regional economic performance in most regions, with several regional labor market, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics identified as factors influencing the entrepreneurship-development nexus. However, Hungarian regions deviate from this pattern. The study contributes to the existing research, which has predominantly focused on Western and developing countries.

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