 The Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Economic Development: Is It U-Shaped?Sander Wennekers, André van Stel, Martin Carree and Roy Thurik Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, 2010, vol. 6, issue 3, 167-237 Abstract: Following a centuries-long decline in the rate of self-employment, a discontinuity in this downward trend is observed for many advanced economies starting in the 1970s and 1980s. In some countries, the rate of self-employment appears to increase. At the same time, crosssectional analysis shows a U-shaped relationship between start-up rates of enterprise and levels of economic development. We provide an overview of the empirical evidence concerning the relationship between independent entrepreneurship, also known as self-employment or business ownership, and economic development. We argue that the reemergence of independent entrepreneurship is based on at least two 'revolutions'. If we distinguish between solo self-employed at the lower end of the entrepreneurship spectrum, and ambitious and/or innovative entrepreneurs at the upper end, many advanced economies show a revival at both extremes. Policymakers in advanced economies should be aware of both revolutions and tailor their policies accordingly. Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Self-employment; Business ownership; Business start-ups; Economic development; U-shape; L-shape; Entrepreneurship; Public policy; Labor economics (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:now:fntent:0300000023 Access Statistics for this article More articles in Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship from now publishers |
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