Entrepreneurship Knowledge And Economic Growth

This monograph is about the forces that underpin the creation of knowledge, its diffusion and commercialization, and the role of the entrepreneur in these dynamic processes. The main objective is to identify the microeconomic foundation of growth, the extent to which contemporary models fail in that respect, and suggest improvements.

By serving as a conduit for knowledge spillovers, entrepreneurship is the missing link between investments in new knowledge and economic growth. The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship provides not just an explanation of why entrepreneurship has become more prevalent as the factor of knowledge has emerged as a crucial source for comparative advantage, but also why entrepreneurship plays a vital role in generating economic growth. Entrepreneurship is an important mechanism permeating the knowledge filter to facilitate the spill over of knowledge and ultimately generate economic growth.

Leading international scholars provide a timely reconsideration of how and why entrepreneurship matters for economic development, particularly in emerging and developing economies. The book critically dissects the evolving relationship between entrepreneurs and the state.

The spillovers in knowledge among largely college-educated workers were among the key reasons for the impressive degree of economic growth and spread of entrepreneurship in the United States during the 1990s. Prior 'industrial policies' in the 1970s and 1980s did not advance growth because these were based on outmoded large manufacturing models. Zoltan Acs and Catherine Armington use a knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship to explain new firm formation rates in regional economies during the 1990s period and beyond. The fastest-growing regions are those that have the highest rates of new firm formation, and which are not dominated by large businesses. The authors of this text also find support for the thesis that knowledge spillovers move across industries and are not confined within a single industry. As a result, they suggest, regional policies to encourage and sustain growth should focus on entrepreneurship among other factors.

By serving as a conduit for knowledge spillovers, entrepreneurship is the missing link between investments in new knowledge and economic growth. The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship provides not just an explanation of why entrepreneurship has become more prevalent as the factor of knowledge has emerged as a crucial source for comparative advantage, but also why entrepreneurship plays a vital role in generating economic growth. Entrepreneurship is an important mechanism permeating the knowledge filter to facilitate the spill over of knowledge and ultimately generate economic growth.

We have, in recent decades, been able to witness a veritable revolution in the world economy, known as ‘globalization’. Generally, the term is connected to the rapid increase of the free movement of goods, capital, people, ideas, information and knowledge around the globe. This book contributes to the meso- and micro-economic literature on innovation and entrepreneurship in the global economy.

The importance of entrepreneurship for achieving economic growth in contemporary economies is widely recognized, both by policy makers and economists. It is deeply embedded in the current European policy approach that the creativity and independence of entrepreneurs contribute to higher levels of economic activity. Indeed, according to the European Commission (2003, p. 9), "The challenge for the European Union is to identify the key factors for building a climate in which entrepreneurial initiative and business activities can thrive. Policy measures should seek to boost the Union's levels of entrepreneurship, adopting the most appropriate approach for producing more entrepreneurs and for getting more firms to grow. " Audretsch (2003, p. 5) states that "Entrepreneurship has become the engine of economic and social development throughout the world. " The relation between entrepreneurship and economic growth is embedded in several strands of the economic literature. A first strand of literature involves the general understanding of the role of entrepreneurship in the modern economy. Seminal contributions were made by Schumpeter (1934), Knight (1921) and Kirzner (1973). These economists stress different aspects of the role of the entrepreneur. While Schumpeter stresses the innovating aspect, Knight stresses the risk assuming aspect. Kirzner, finally, stresses the role of the entrepreneur in leading markets to equilibrium. Acs (1992) discusses the contribution of small firms in modern economies.

Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges brings together and unprecedented group of economists, data providers, and data analysts to discuss research on the state of entrepreneurship and to address the challenges in understanding this dynamic part of the economy. Each chapter addresses the challenges of measuring entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurial firms contribute to economies and standards of living. The book also investigates heterogeneity in entrepreneurs, challenges experienced by entrepreneurs over time, and how much less we know than we think about entrepreneurship given data limitations. This volume will be a groundbreaking first serious look into entrepreneurship in the NBER's Income and Wealth series.

This volume seeks to catalyze the emergence of a novel field of policy studies: entrepreneurship policy. Practical experience and academic research both point to the central role of entrepreneurs in the process of economic growth and to the importance of public policy in creating the conditions under which entrepreneurial companies can flourish. The contributors, who hail from the disciplines of economics, geography, history, law, management, and political science, seek to crystallize key findings and to stimulate debate about future opportunities for policy-makers and researchers in this area. The chapters include surveys of the economic, social, and cultural contexts for US entrepreneurship policy; assessments of regional efforts to link knowledge producers to new enterprises; explorations of policies that aim to foster entrepreneurship in under-represented communities; detailed analyses of three key industries (biotechnology, e-commerce, and telecommunications); and considerations of challenges in policy implementation.

Three sets of questions are addressed.