Our Research
The Lab develops research around four interconnected areas:
Access & Inequality
How gender, social background, status, and other sources of inequality shape entrepreneurial entry and access to capital and opportunities.
Networks & Social Structure
How social networks, family ties, communities, and relationships with investors and other stakeholders influence entrepreneurial trajectories.
Institutions & Markets
How regulation, labor markets, financing institutions, and other features of the institutional environment shape entrepreneurial activity.
Economic Transformation
How entrepreneurship evolves as economies diversify, new technologies emerge, and established industries and institutions undergo change.
Working Papers
- Nofal, A. M., Kacperczyk, A., Delmar, F., & Tharwat, I. (2026). Before the pitch: A field experiment on appearance penalties in entrepreneurial network formation. Working paper.
- Kacperczyk, A., & Nofal, A. M. (2026). Whose approval matters? A field experiment on social approval and the decision to join a startup. Working paper.
- Eid, Y., Mensmann, M., & Nofal, A. M. (2026). Who decides? AI Training, agency, and entrepreneurial well-being: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Egypt.