To Be or Not to Be: The Entrepreneur in Neo-Schumpeterian Growth Theory

Magnus Henrekson (), Dan Johansson and Johan Karlsson ()
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Johan Karlsson: Jönköping University, Sogang University

No 15605, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Based on a review of 700+ peer-reviewed articles since 1990, identified using text mining methodology and supervised machine learning, we analyze how neo-Schumpeterian growth theorists relate to the entrepreneur-centered view of Schumpeter (1934) and the entrepreneurless framework of Schumpeter (1942). The literature leans heavily towards Schumpeter (1942); innovation returns are modeled as following an ex ante known probability distribution. By assuming that innovation outcomes are (probabilistically) deterministic, the entrepreneur becomes redundant. Abstracting from genuine uncertainty, implies that central issues regarding the economic function of the entrepreneur are overlooked such as the roles of proprietary resources, skills, and profits.

Keywords: creative destruction; economic growth; entrepreneur; innovation; judgment; Knightian uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B40 O10 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2022-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-big, nep-ent, nep-his, nep-hme, nep-hpe and nep-ino
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Published - published in: Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2024, 48 (1), 104–140

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Related works:
Journal Article: To Be or Not to Be: The Entrepreneur in Neo-Schumpeterian Growth Theory (2024)
Working Paper: To Be or Not to Be: The Entrepreneur in Neo-Schumpeterian Growth Theory (2023)
Working Paper: To Be or Not to Be: The Entrepreneur in Neo-Schumpeterian Growth Theory (2023)
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