讲座标题：
The Soft Skills Dividend: How Business Accelerators Shape Startup Employee Careers
内容简介：High-growth startups fuel economic dynamism and receive substantial government support worldwide, often through acceleration programs. While the impact of these programs on businesses is well-documented, little is known about how they shape employee careers. We provide the first systematic evidence that startup acceleration enhances career trajectories through a "soft skills dividend." Using a two-pronged approach—analyzing a large cross-program dataset from the Americas and a quasi-experimental study with administrative wage data from Colombia’s ValleE accelerator—we find that employees of accelerated firms earn higher wages over time without increased employability risks. These gains stem from transitions into other companies and roles requiring greater soft skills—behavioral and social traits that enable individuals to collaborate effectively—leading to more managerial, entrepreneurial, or leadership positions. Alternative explanations, such as certification, validation, or networking, are less consistent with the results. Our findings highlight the broader impact of accelerators on human capital development.
主讲人简介：
Junaita是伦敦政治经济学院（LSE）金融学副教授，研究领域涵盖创业精神、私募股权与创新，重点关注拉丁美洲、英国和美国市场。她同时担任经济政策研究中心（CEPR）研究员，并参与组织‘WE_ARE女性经济学家’系列研讨会。作为LSE金融市场集团（Financial Markets Group）联合主任，她主导全球金融市场的尖端研究工作。她还领导咨询机构PositiveImpactMPG，为企业提供影响力投资（impact investment）、可持续发展、政策创新等领域的建议。此外，她兼任Startup Coalition（初创企业联盟）及英国私募股权与风险投资协会（BVCA）顾问委员会成员，并隶属于学术演讲局（Academic Speakers Bureau）。