This analysis examines how a local skills gap is related to entrepreneurial outcomes at the regional level in the USA. We develop a novel measure of a regional skills gap using education, comparing the educational attainment of the population with the education requirements of jobs in the region. We hypothesize that an educational mismatch, specifically overeducation, drives new establishment births. This positive effect of overeducation is even higher in high-amenity, non-metro counties, mainly in the Mountain West. To the extent that entrepreneurship generates broader economic growth, this suggests an especially promising strategy for development in some rural regions.

该分析研究了美国地区层面的本地技能差距与创业成果之间的关系。我们开发了一种使用教育来衡量区域技能差距的新方法，将人口的教育程度与该地区工作的教育要求进行比较。我们假设教育不匹配，特别是过度教育，会推动新企业的诞生。过度教育的这种积极影响在高舒适度、非都市县（主要是西部山区）中甚至更高。就创业带来更广泛的经济增长而言，这表明一些农村地区的发展战略特别有前途。