New Zealand necessity entrepreneurs

The necessity entrepreneur (NE) is someone who never considered starting or owning a business until there was no other option. Using the methodology of the global entrepreneurship monitor, this paper examines New Zealand necessity entrepreneurs in the light of propositions cited in the literature that NE is associated with three factors: positively with economic growth (real GDP growth rate); positively with unemployment (unemployment rate); negatively with a generous welfare system (expenditures on social security). Factor 1 is confirmed through the GEM data; Factors 2 and 3 are not supported by the data. Immigration is seen as a possible contributory factor to the moderately high NE rates in New Zealand. In addition, unique characteristics of migrant necessity entrepreneurs pave ways for initiatives and intervention by local governments.