Are Europeans too scared to be entrepreneurs?

The next Amazon.com, Yahoo or Google appears less likely to come from Europe than the United States, according to a new study on entrepreneurship from the European Commission.

Forty-five per cent of Europeans would like to be their own boss, compared with 61 per cent of Americans, according to the report, published on Monday. Factors linked to Europeans' relative aversion to starting up a business include a stronger emphasis on job stability and more anxiety about the possibility of bankruptcy, according to the report.

But European leaders are trying to encourage more citizens to become like Jeff Bezos, Jerry Yang or Sergey Brin. European Commissioner Gunter Verheugen said in a statement: "Entrepreneurs are the economic DNA which we need to build competitiveness and innovation in Europe."

The survey, which was conducted last April and involved telephone interviews of more than 21,000 people, found that just two per cent of Europeans were actually in the process of setting up a business, compared with eight per cent of Americans.

One sign of hope for Europeans stems from stronger entrepreneurial spirit in the newer members of the European Union. Overall, a third of EU citizens not self-employed would consider setting up a business in the next five years, but that figure was 40 per cent in the new member states. The 10 newest members of the EU include the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.

Forty-five per cent of Europeans were worried about the possibility of bankruptcy, according to the report, contrasting with 36 per cent of Americans. In addition, 35 per cent of Europeans were worried about losing property if their businesses were to fail, compared with just 21 per cent of Americans.

Ed Frauenheim writes for CNET News.com.