Recent study shows connection between economics classes in schools and entrepreneurial activity in adulthood
22 September 2025
GEMEINSAME PRESSEMITTEILUNG DES IFO INSITUTS – LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FÜR WIRTSCHAFTSFORSCHUNG UND DER JOHANNES GUTENBERG-UNIVERSITÄT MAINZ
Economics as a school subject leads to more entrepreneurial activity in later professional life, as shown by a recent study by the ifo Institute and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). According to the study, the probability of entrepreneurial activity increases by four percentage points if economics was a mandatory subject at school. "Economics education at school can promote entrepreneurship in adulthood. However, the crucial factor is how the subject is taught. Teaching economics has a long-term effect when curricula emphasize the role of the individual in the economy," said Professor Larissa Zierow, research professor at the ifo Institute and professor at Reutlingen University.
The increase in entrepreneurial independence in adulthood is independent of the family background or parents' entrepreneurial activity. Furthermore, the increase is not at the expense of other sectors of the economy. "The probability of working in the public sector remains roughly unchanged. That suggests that teaching economics does not redistribute between labor market sectors but rather activates entrepreneurial potential that would otherwise have remained untapped," stated Professor Andranik Tumasjan of Mainz University, co-author of the study.
The study examines the influence of introducing economics classes at university-track secondary schools in the German federal states between 1952 and 2007 on self-employment in later adulthood. The analysis is based on the linking of individual survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) with the reform data at federal state level. Persons are considered to be affected by the reform if economics was introduced as a mandatory subject in the year in which they entered ninth grade at school. They are therefore expected to have been affected by the reform.