A rapidly growing literature explores the link between linguistic structures and economic outcomes. The language a speaker uses systematically influences cognition, thinking, and thus behavior. It also influences the form and content of cultural information that is shared through time and generations. We examine how these linguistic structures influence entrepreneurship. Not all forms of entrepreneurship are equally conducive to, nor associated with, economic growth and prosperity. A distinction is often made between necessity entrepreneurship, which is a result of individuals being pushed into self-employment by adverse circumstances, and opportunity entrepreneurship in which individuals choose to pursue promising ideas. We find that countries with languages not dropping personal pronouns in their major spoken language, or those speaking a weak future time reference (FTR) language, have higher proportions of opportunity relative to necessity-driven entrepreneurs, and that this effect is stronger in countries with higher levels of economic freedom.

快速增长的文献探讨了语言结构与经济结果之间的联系。说话者使用的语言系统地影响认知、思维，从而影响行为。它还影响着不同时间和代际共享的文化信息的形式和内容。我们研究了这些语言结构如何影响创业。并非所有形式的创业都同样有利于经济增长和繁荣，也不与之相关。必要创业通常是必要的，前者是个人被不利环境推入个体经营的结果，后者是个人选择追求有前途的想法的机会创业。我们发现，与其主要口语中没有删除人称代词的国家，或者说较弱的未来时间参考 （FTR） 语言的国家，相对于需求驱动的企业家，机会比例更高，并且这种影响在经济自由度较高的国家更强。