Risky business: linking Toxoplasma gondii infection and entrepreneurship behaviours across individuals and countries

Disciplines such as business and economics often rely on the assumption of rationality when explaining complex human behaviours. However, growing evidence suggests that behaviour may concurrently be influenced by infec- tious microorganisms. The protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, infects an estimated 2 billion people worldwide and has been linked to behavioural alterations in humans and other vertebrates. Here we integrate primary data from college students and business professionals with national-level information on cultural attitudes toward business to test the hypothesis that T. gondii infection influences individual as well as societal-scale entre- preneurship activities. Using a saliva-based assay, we found that students (n 1⁄4 1495) who tested IgG positive for T. gondii exposure were 1.4 more likely to major in business and 1.70 more likely to have an emphasis in ‘management and entrepreneurship’ over other business-related emphases. Among professionals attending entrepreneurship ev...