Factors Associated with Latino-Owned Business Survival in the United States

Abstract

: This article uses 127,000 observations from three confidential Census microdata sets at the individual firm and establishment level to investigate Latino-owned business survival. The merged microdata allows us to control for a wide array of personal, business, and regional characteristics. The analysis is based on hazard model. Relative to base categories, we find the following decrease in the odds of survival: Latina-owned, Puerto Rican owned, and selling to the federal government. Owner education and low barrier sectors have no effect, while start-up from personal savings increase the odds by 4 percent. The findings inform ways to expand regional economies through businesses operated by Latinos.