Student regional origins and student entrepreneurship

Using data from a large public research university in the United States, we examine the relationship between the characteristics of undergraduate college students' regional origins and students' interest in entrepreneurship. We find that several entrepreneurial indicators of students' regional origins predict students' entrepreneurial intent and ideation. One possible explanation for our results is that the extent of entrepreneurial activity in a region may imprint attitudes towards entrepreneurial careers on people growing up in those regions. Our findings suggest the composition of admitted students' geographical origins may impact the entrepreneurial focus of universities' student bodies.