Impact of Social Unrest and the Pandemic on Family Micro-Entrepreneurship Success in Chile

Entrepreneurship is transcendental to the economy and contributes to economic growth. In this context, law 19.749 was established in Chile to facilitate the creation of family microenterprises (FME). However, the social upheaval that occurred in Chile and subsequently the COVID-19 pandemic has had negative repercussions on the country s economy. The present study has the objective of studying the variables that influence the success of family microenterprises. A survey was conducted among micro-entrepreneurs who are beneficiaries of the FME program in the southern sector of the Metropolitan Region. A Probit model was estimated, based on socio-economic information, coming from seventy beneficiaries of entrepreneurial initiatives of a south sector community of the capital, representing 40% of the total. The results show that, in the face of social upheaval, the female gender has a positive correlation, while the number of children has a negative effect. In response to the pandemic, female gender correlates positively, whereas Chilean nationality, number of children, and productive and service sectors are negatively related. Finally, in the context of both events, the number of children and the service sector has a negative influence. The results allow us to predict the relative success of the family enterprises ahead of the arrival of eventual exogenous shock.