The phenomenon of the New Zealand necessity entrepreneur

There is a direct correlation between Necessity Entrepreneurship and economic growth; high growth is achieved by raising the Necessity Entrepreneurship rate (GEM 2002). The Necessity Entrepreneur (NE) is someone who never considered owning a business until there was no other option (Kroll, 2003; Forbes 2003). This paper studies the demographic and attitudinal peculiarities of New Zealand Necessity Entrepreneurs; particularly related to reasons as to why these Entrepreneurs start their own businesses. The study explores comparisons between Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA), Opportunity Entrepreneurs (OE) and Necessity Entrepreneurs (NE) in New Zealand, together with NE comparisons between OECD and developed countries. The paper explores relationships between NE and unemployment, welfare systems, the labour-leisure trade off (Cowling, 2002), and pension provisions.