The Emergence of Entrepreneurship in Cuba: What Can We Learn
Abstract
Entrepreneurs around the world would agree that being an entrepreneur provides a gateway to flexibility and freedom and it requires an enormous amount of responsibility and commitment. When Raul Castro announced that Cubans could officially run their own business, it created a means for Cuba’s citizens to have choices. This article provides an overview of Cuba’s emerging entrepreneurs and how their endeavors are stimulating the formation of a middle class. Driven by economic liberalization, the Cuban entrepreneur and Cuban consumer are able to aspire for goods and services that were not attainable between 1959 and 2008. This study provides an overview about the motivating and personal characteristics of Cuba’s entrepreneurs. The importance of this group on the formation of Cuba’s middle class is addressed. Our findings indicate what can be done to provide continued support to this group so that the middle class of Cuba continues to grow.
References
[1] Jorge, F. (1995). Cuba’s Second Economy: From Behind the Scenes to Center Stage. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
[2] Valdés Paz, J. (2010). Cuba: The left in government, 1959–2008. Socialism and Democracy, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 31–48.
[3] Dominguez, J. (2015). What you might not know about the Cuban economy. Harvard Business Review, August 17.
[4] Montenegro, C. E. and Soto, R. (1996). How distorted is Cuba’s trade? Evidence and predictions from a gravity model. Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 45–68.
[5] Benzing, C. (2005). Cuba—Is the “Special Period” Really Over? International Advances in Economic Research, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 69–82.
[6] Goldberg, J. (September 2010). Fidel: Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore, The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/ archive/2010/09/fidel-cuban-model-doesnt- even-work-for-us-anymore/62602/
[7] Associate Press. (2010). Cuba to fire 500,000 government workers, CBS News, September 13. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cuba-to-fire500000 government-workers/
[8] Feinberg, R. E. (2013). Soft Landing in Cuba? Emerging Entrepreneurs and Middle Classes, Latin America Initiative at Brookings.
[9] Feinberg, R. (2016). Open for Business: Building the New Cuban Economy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
[10] Knowledge@Wharton. (April 3, 2015). Hugo Cancio on Cuba’s Entrepreneurial Environment. Retrieved from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/ entrepreneurship-in-cuba/
[11] Gaceta Oficial. ( January 29, 2013). No 3, Special Edition, Resolution 21/2013.
[12] Oficina Nacional de Estadistica e Informaciaon: Republica de Cuba. (2017). Average Salary Figures: 2016. Retrieved from http://www.one.cu/ salariomedioencifras2016.htm
[13] Javalgi, R. R. G. and Grossman, D. A. (2016). Aspirations and entrepreneurial motivations of middle-class consumers in emerging markets: The case of India. International Business Review, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 657–667.
[14] Easterly, W. (2001). The middle class consensus and economic development. Journal of Economic Growth, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 317–335.
[15] Murphy, K. M., Shleifer, A., and Vishny, R. W. (1988). Industrialization and the big push (NBER Working Paper No. 2708).
[16] Acemoglu, D. and Zilibotti, F. (1997). Was Prometheus unbound by chance? Risk, diversification, and growth. Journal of Political Economy, vol. 105, no. 4, pp. 709–751.
[17] Doepke, M. and Zilibotti, F. (2007). Occupational choice and the spirit of capitalism. (NBER Working Paper No. 12917). National Bureau of Economic Research.
[18] Birdsall, N., Graham, C., and Pettinato, S. (2000). Stuck in tunnel: Is globalization muddling the middle? (Brookings Institution Center Working Paper No. 14).
[19] Lopez-Calva, L. F., Rigolini, J., and Torche, F. (2012). Is there such a thing as middle class values? (Working Paper 286). Washington DC: Center.
[20] Ferreira, F. H., Messina, J., Rigolini, J., et al. (2012). Economic Mobility and the Rise of the Latin American Middle Class. World Bank Publications.
[21] Burger-Helmchen, T (ed.). (2012). Entrepreneurship – Born, Made and Educated. Croatia: InTech.
[22] Foxnews. (2017). Cuba starts offering home internet service, but few are buying. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/21/cuba-startsoffering home-internet-service-but-few-are-buying.html
[23] Voice of America. (2015). US Companies in Cuba for week-long celebration of commerce, November 3. Retrieved from https://www.voanews.com/a/uscompanies-in cuba-for-week-long-celebration-of-commerce/3034741.html
[24] Reuters. (2016). This new luxury hotel in Havana is making U.S.–Cuba history, Fortune, June 28. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2016/06/28/sheraton-hotelhavana cuba/
[25] Guttman, A. (2017). How entrepreneurship in Cuba is rising both fast and slow, Forbes, March 16.