问题少年创业更易成功？
新近的研究发现，与头脑机灵但常参与违法活动的青少年相比，那些同样聪明却循规蹈矩的青少年成为成功企业家的可能性更小一些。
In a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, economists Ross Levine and Yona Rubinstein examine what it takes to become an entrepreneur and whether entrepreneurship pays off in terms of wages. Using data from the March Supplements of the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, they look at the cognitive, noncognitive and family traits of self-employed individuals who have incorporated businesses and compare it to the characteristics of salaried workers and the self-employed who don't have incorporated businesses.
在美国国家经济研究局(National Bureau of Economic Research)出版的一份工作论文当中，经济学家罗斯?列文(Ross Levine)与尤纳?鲁宾斯坦(Yona Rubinstein)研究了成为一名企业家的必要条件以及创业精神会否在薪酬上给创业者带来回报的问题。利用美国人口普查局当期人口调查(U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey)《三月附录》(March Supplements)中的数据，两位经济学家梳理了那些拥有公司的个体经营者的认知素质、非认知素质及其家庭特征，并将他们与领薪水的工人和没有公司的个体户进行了比较。
Previous research on entrepreneurs has looked at the entire population of self-employed workers, which, Messrs. Levine and Rubinstein say, doesn't distinguish between a hot dog vendor and Michael Bloomberg. The process of incorporating a business - making it a separate entity under the law - can be lengthy and expensive. The economists argue that self-employed workers who incorporate their businesses show the intent and agency to start a new, profitable venture and are therefore more representative of entrepreneurship than those who haven't incorporated their businesses. Furthermore, not many self-employed workers switch from unincorporated to incorporated and vice versa, the economists say, providing more support for the idea that incorporation coincides with an entrepreneurial venture. 'The nature of the business tells you about the nature of the person,' says Mr. Rubinstein.
列文与鲁宾斯坦称，之前有关企业家的研究一概而论地探讨了所有个体经营者，并未区分卖热狗的小贩与迈克尔?布隆伯格(Michael Bloomberg)的差别。组建一家公司的过程――即依法成立一个独立实体――既耗时又耗钱。两位经济学家称，那些组建了自己公司的个体经营者表明了想要创办一家新盈利企业的意愿，因而比那些没有自己公司的人更能代表创业精神。经济学家称，而且，并没有多少个体户能从非公司企业转型成公司企业的，反之亦然。这就为“组建公司与一次冒险型创业是相吻合的”这一理念提供了更多的支持。鲁宾斯坦说：“商业的性质揭示了商人的本质。”
The economists find that self-employed workers with incorporated businesses were almost three times more likely to engage in illicit and risky activities as youth than were salaried workers. These behaviors include but aren't limited to shoplifting, marijuana use, playing hooky at school, drug dealing and assault. In addition, the self-employed with incorporated businesses exhibited greater self-esteem, scored higher on learning aptitude tests, were more educated and were more likely to come from high-earning, two-parent families than other employment types. 'Of course, you have to be smart,' says Mr. Levine. 'But it's a unique combination of breaking rules and being smart that helps you become an entrepreneur.'
两位经济学家发现，那些拥有公司的个体经营者在年轻时参与到非法与冒险性活动的可能性几乎是拿薪水打工者的三倍。这些行为包括但不限于入店行窃、吸食大麻、逃学旷课、毒品交易和人身侵犯。除此之外，与其他类型的从业人员相比，公司个体经营者展现出了更强的自尊心，在学习能力测试中得分也更高。他们受到更高的教育，更有可能来自高收入的双亲家庭。列文说：“当然，你必须得聪明。但打破陈规和头脑睿智是一种独特的组合，这将有助于你成为一名企业家。”
These qualities also have a downside. Risk-taking tendencies in combination with high self-esteem make successful entrepreneurs prone to dangerous lapses in judgement, the Wall Street Journal reported in June, finding that many financial advisers have to keep their entrepreneur clients in check.
《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)在6月份曾报道称，这些品质也有其负面影响。冒险倾向与自负相结合会使成功的企业家容易在决策判断中犯下危险的错误，结果使许多财务顾问不得不去控制他们的企业客户。
But on the whole, entrepreneurship does pay off. The economists find that individuals who left their salaried jobs to start incorporated businesses work more hours but also earn more per hour than other employment types, and those who start successful incorporated enterprises enjoy substantially larger boosts in earnings relative to their own wages as salaried workers. The results show 'that entrepreneurship, at the median, pays - and it offers the possibility of comparably enormous returns,' the researchers write.
但总体来说，创业精神的确会给人带来回报。经济学家发现，那些辞掉了自己的有薪工作、开公司创业的个人工作时间更长，但他们的时薪也比其他类型的从业者要高。而那些创业成功的人则会享有极大的收益增长，这又与自己的薪酬挂钩，就像领薪水的工作者一样。正如研究人员写得那样，这些结果表明，“创业是会让人赚钱的（计算中位数得出）――它还会提供获得相对巨额回报的可能性。
Self-employed workers who don't incorporate their businesses earn less than salaried workers, the economists find. Prior research, which uses all self-employed workers as a proxy for entrepreneurship, has found that salaried workers make more than entrepreneurs, but have similar levels of educational attainment. Messrs. Levine and Rubinstein say that separating self-employed workers into incorporated and unincorporated categories resolves this discrepancy.
两位经济学家发现，那些没有将生意组成有法人地位营业公司的个体户比拿工资的工作者要挣得少。之前的研究则将所有的个体经营者都视为创业精神的代表，结果发现领薪水过日子的工作者比企业家挣得更多，但他们的受教育程度却不相上下。列文与鲁宾斯坦两者认为，将个体经营者划分为公司企业与非公司企业两类就能解决这一矛盾。
The economists note that entrepreneurs come from wealthier families, which may give them an advantage with raising capital. The Journal recently reported that growing student loan burdens have been killing startup dreams for many young people.
经济学家特别提到，创业者都来自更为富裕的家庭，这可能会为他们筹集资金提供一种优势。《华尔街日报》最近报道称，不断增加的学生贷款负担已使许多年轻人的创业梦破灭。
