Can entrepreneurship make you poor? A study of socio-economic trajectory, capitals and context in a developed nation

In developed economies, there is evidence that the work mode defined in statistics as ‘entrepreneurship’ includes those measured as amongst the poorest. With reference to theory on the impact of capitals, intersecting sources of disadvantage and the theorised variability of interpretations of value, this article explores poverty and entrepreneurship in the developed nation context of the UK. Using a two-stage qualitative analysis with 42 participants who are experiencing poverty, it investigates if their circumstances represent a reproduction of capitals-deficits prior to, or if they have emerged since, their entrepreneurship. Findings include evidence of both, demonstrating for the first time that entrepreneurship can be a context of downwards socio-economic trajectory. By exploring idiosyncratic, intersecting circumstances, the research further evidences that value(s) sought of and attributed to entrepreneurship are context-bound and vary by different types of background and capitals. The paper thus evidences that entrepreneurship may perpetuate or even worsen poverty for some people, this effect may be linked to the type of education and other capitals of individuals, and lack of financial return may be tolerated in favour of other values realised of entrepreneurship.