Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Memorandum,
Oslo University, Department of Economics

No 3/2025: Entrepreneurial returns to college

Edwin Leuven () and Ingrid Mikkelsen Semb ()
Additional contact information
Edwin Leuven: Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo, Postal: Department of Economics, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1095 Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway
Ingrid Mikkelsen Semb: Research Department, Statistics Norway

Abstract: How does college education shape entrepreneurship? We first document striking differences between college fields in the share of students becoming entrepreneurs. We then leverage quasi-random variation in college admissions near GPA-based thresholds to study the causal impact of the college environment on subsequent entrepreneurship. Exposure to more entrepreneurially intensive college programs, measured as a higher share of entrepreneurs among alumni, substantially increases the probability that a student starts their own business.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; higher education; field of study; regression discontinuity

JEL-codes: C21; C26; I23; I26; J24; L26; M13

Language: English

28 pages, November 28, 2025

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