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The main objective of this research is to exploratorily analyse different factors that influence the decision of the senior population (+50 years) to engage in entrepreneurship activities in a group of Latin American countries. This study considers the motivations for entrepreneurship (opportunity and necessity) and the level of development of the countries.

The authors used data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) with a sample of 22,139 observations of senior individuals in seven Latin American countries surveyed between 2013 and 2017. The authors also used the Human Development Index to capture the relevance of the level of development. The authors employed a multilevel logistic regression model to test the study hypotheses.

The study results show that individual factors such as personal income, education and occupation have a significant influence on the probability of entrepreneurship of senior individuals. Related to contextual factors, the level of human development of a country has a negative influence mainly on opportunity-based entrepreneurs.

Because of the rapidly ageing population in Latin America, understanding senior entrepreneurs and their motivations is very relevant not only in terms of theoretical development but also for policy and practical implications, primarily those related to labour markets and social protection.

The purpose of this paper is to study the case of Chile and identify the internal factors that lead to senior (+55 years old) entrepreneurship, either by necessity or opportunity, compared to that in other age groups.

The analysis is based on the adult population survey of the global entrepreneurship monitor between 2012 and 2016 and uses a logistic regression model that applies different variables to total early-stage entrepreneurial activity by necessity and opportunity.

Education, human and social capital development, gender and prior experience as an entrepreneur are internal factors that affect entrepreneurial activity with different weights and directions for people over 55 years old in Chile, either by necessity or opportunity. Further, certain factors exhibited by other age groups in the country explain entrepreneurship.

This study does not consider external perspectives on how context influences entrepreneurial intentions.

This paper represents a first step to understanding the factors that governments should consider when designing policies to support entrepreneurial activity in the senior demographic sector, considering differences in motivation by necessity or opportunity. In addition, this study contributes to the development of knowledge regarding senior entrepreneurship in Chile and to the identification of best practices that could be used in other regions.

This report is the first to focus on the motivations of senior entrepreneurs in Chile by quantifying the effects of different factors.