Entrepreneurship and Aging

The world’s population will age dramatically. Increased life expectancy, declining fertility rates, and the aging baby boom generation lead to a rising proportion of older people. By 2050, people aged 65 and above will constitute over 26 % of the population in developed countries (Cohen 2003). The increase in older people will affect how and to what extent older people remain active participants in the workforce. A growing number of older people will stay in their jobs or remain economically active through other means (Kautonen et al. 2011). An interesting aspect of this changing involvement of older people in the economy is the phenomenon of the older entrepreneur (de Bruin and Dupuis 2003), also known as gray entrepreneur, senior entrepreneur, third age entrepreneur, elder entrepreneur, and second career entrepreneur (Weber and Schaper 2004).