Abstract
Despite the importance of household enterprises in employment in developing economies, little is known about their creation, survival, and growth. This paper examines the dynamics of household enterprises, using panel data from 1998-2018 in Egypt. The analyses explore the individual, household, and enterprise characteristics that contribute to these dynamics. The findings demonstrate high rates of entry and closure in the household enterprise sector drive employment, more so than dynamics of growth in existing enterprises. Household enterprises may be a fallback or survival strategy for less-educated and less-privileged workers, but may also be an opportunity for accumulating wealth.
