The diversity of interest in later-life entrepreneurship: Results from a nationally representative survey of Americans aged 50 to 70

While older entrepreneurs are more likely to be male, white, and have higher levels of human, social, and financial capital, we know less about interest in later-life entrepreneurship. This study estimates entrepreneurial interest in a nationally representative sample of Americans aged 50 to 70 using partial proportional odds modeling. We estimate that more than 31 million older Americans have some interest in entrepreneurship and reveal key predictors of this interest (e.g., younger age). Importantly, the findings indicate that a more diverse group of older adults are interested in entrepreneurship than have become entrepreneurs, suggesting the need for additional research on the potential disparities between entrepreneurial interest and action in later life.尽管老年创业者多为男性、白人，且拥有更丰厚的人力资本、社会资本与金融资本，但学界对晚年创业意愿的了解仍较为有限。本研究采用偏比例优势模型（partial proportional odds modeling），针对50至70岁美国人群的全国代表性样本，对其创业意愿进行了估算。经估算，逾3100万美国老年群体对创业存在一定意愿，同时本研究还揭示了该意愿的关键预测因素（如较年轻的年龄）。值得注意的是，研究结果显示，对创业抱有意愿的老年群体，其构成比实际开展创业的老年群体更为多元，这表明学界有必要进一步探究晚年阶段创业意愿与创业行为之间的潜在差异。