Handbook of Research on Elderly Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This handbook introduces readers to the concept of elderly entrepreneurship, and analyzes key issues concerning individuals and institutions. In addition, it presents theoretical and empirical studies exploring the reasons why elderly persons choose to pursue entrepreneurship, despite their advanced age. To investigate this comparatively new entrepreneurial phenomenon, the contributors address psychological, sociological and gerontological aspects, and share unique interdisciplinary insights. The book’s chapters are methodologically diverse, and the scale of analysis ranges from individual cases to country-level patterns. At a time when the world’s major economies are facing a demographic challenge due to ageing populations, elderly entrepreneurship may provide new economic opportunities and motivate more inclusive policymaking.