Entrepreneurship in Cuba: Returns of Party Affiliation and Mobilization of Personal Contacts in Cuba

This manuscript focuses on factors — in particular, political credential and mobilization of personalcontacts — associated to becoming acuentapropista, namely a self-employed worker in the emergingprivate sector. Data were collected shortly before the launch of the recent reforms plan aiming atrevitalizing the market-oriented reforms of the 1990s. The results suggest that being a member ofthe PCC is negatively associated to entering in the private sector. Older individuals and recipientsof remittances have instead a higher probability to become a self-employed worker. Moreover, theresults provide some support to previous findings that turning to personal ties — especially if strong— to successfully complete a job search, is a common practice in Cuba.