In the 1980s stagflation and high unemployment caused a renewed interest in supply side economics and in factors determining economic growth. Simultaneously, the 1980s and 1990s have seen a reevaluation of the role of small firms and a renewed attention for entrepreneurship. The goal of this survey is to synthesize disparate strands of literature to link entrepreneurship to economic growth. This will be done by investigating the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth using elements of various fields: historical views on entrepreneurship, macro-economic growth theory, industrial economics (Porter's competitive advantage of nations), evolutionary economics, history of economic growth (rise and fall of nations) and the management literature on large corporate organizations. Understanding the role of entrepreneurship in the process of economic growth requires the decomposition of the concept of entrepreneurship. A first part of our synthesis is to contribute to the understanding of the dimensions involved, while paying attention to the level of analysis (individual, firm and aggregate level). A second part is to gain insight in the causal links between these entrepreneurial dimensions and economic growth. A third part is to make suggestions for future empirical research into the relationship between (dimensions of) entrepreneurship and economic growth.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/40229031.pdf

Linking Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth

This paper presents a Schumpeterian endogenous growth model in which a steady state exists with a constant growth rate even though population and the inputs to R. & D. are growing. The scale effect of rising population is nullified by product proliferation that fragments the growing demand for intermediate prodcuts, thus preventing the reward to any specific innovation from rising with population. All the ususal comparitive statics results of Schumpeterian growth theory are valid, including the positive effect of R. & D. subsidies on growth.

Steady Endogenous Growth with Population and R. & D. Inputs Growing

Elitists, risk-takers, and rugged individualists? An exploratory analysis of cultural differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs

An increase in the size (scale) of an economy increases the total quantity of rents that can be captured by successful innovators, which, in equilibrium, should lead to a rise in innovative activity. Conventional wisdom and the theoretical predictions of models of endogenous innovation suggest that this increased research effort should lead to more rapid growth. As noted by Charles Jones, this prediction is at odds with the postwar experience of the OECD, where the growth of the market has indeed led to an increased R & D effort that, however, has been translated into stagnat or declining growth rates. Drawing on the remarkable insights of the museum curator Seabury C. Gilfillan, this paper modifies models of endogenous innovation to allow for the possibility that a rise in the profitability of innovative activity could lead to an increased variety of differentiated solutions to similar problems. An increased variety of technologies (e.g., an increase in the number and types of contraceptives) will increa...

/pdf/growth-without-scale-effects-1f6txg4s6s.pdf

Growth without Scale Effects

I analyze an economy in which profit-maximizing firms can undertake both labor- or capital-augmenting technological improvements. In the long run, the economy looks like the standard growth model with purely labor-augmenting technical change, and the share of labor in GDP is constant. Along the transition path, however, there is capital-augmenting technical change and factor shares change. A range of policies may have counterintuitive implications due to their effect on the direction of technical change. For example, taxes on capital income reduce the labor share in the short run, but increase it in the medium/long run.

/pdf/labor-and-capital-augmenting-technical-change-j715c7kgv3.pdf

Labor- and Capital-Augmenting Technical Change

Imperfect competition, concentration and growth with firm-specific R & D

Biased Efficiency Growth and Capital-Labor Substitution in the U.S., 1899-1960Biased Efficiency Growth and Capital-Labor Substitution in the U.S., 1899-1960

The impact of competition on growth and welfare is analysed by developing a model in which the number of firms, profit margins and innovation rates are endogenous. Different regimes of oligopolistic competition are distinguished. The tougher the price competition, the lower the profit margins for a given rate of concentration. This reduces the number of firms and product variety in a free entry equilibrium. Consequently, tougher competition implies larger firm size and higher rates of innovation since new technologies can be applied in a larger market. Oligopolistic pricing leads to underinvestment in firm-specific knowledge, even if inter-firm knowledge spillovers are neglected. I. Introduction Innovation is an important source for promoting economic welfare. However, private and social returns to innovation may diverge due to different externalities. Knowledge spillovers and interactions among rivals on goods and factor markets affect private incentives for innovation and determine the wedge between social and private returns. Therefore variations in market conditions, and differences in toughness of price competition in particular, may have an important impact on growth and welfare. In this paper we develop a general equilibrium growth model that distinguishes two sectors: a high-tech sector with differentiated products and a traditional sector with a homogeneous good. We explore how toughness of competition in the differentiated goods sector affects market structure and innovation by distinguishing between different regimes of oligopolistic competition. Competition is defined to be toughest in the regime where profit margins are smallest, given an arbitrary level of concentration, as measured by the number of rivals in the market; see Sutton (1991). We find that toughness of competition enhances growth, although this occurs at the expense of a smaller variety in consumption. From a welfare point of view it is shown that whatever the intensity of competition, economic growth is too low. However, the number of product varieties may be either too high or too low.

Growth, Competition and Welfare

North-south knowledge spillovers and competition: Convergence versus divergence

Over the last decade or so, applied general equilibrium models have rapidly become a major tool for policy advice on issues regarding allocation and efficiency, most notably taxes and tariffs. This reflects the power of the general equilibrium approach to allocative questions and the capability of today's applied models to come up with realistic answers. However, it by no means implies that the theoretical, practical and empirical problems faced by researchers in applied modelling have all been solved in a satisfactory way. Rather, a promising field of research has been opened up, inviting theorists and practitioners to further explore and exploit its potential. The state of the art in applied general equilibrium modelling is reflected in this volume. The introductory Chapter (Part I) evaluates the use of economic modelling to address policy questions, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of applied general equilibrium models. Three substantive issues are dealt with in Chapters 2-8: Tax Reform and Capital (Part II), Intertemporal Aspects and Expectations (Part III), and Taxes and the Labour Market (Part IV). While all parts contain results relevant for economic policy, it is clear that theory and applications for these areas are in different stages of development. We hope that this book will bring inspiration, insight and information to researchers, students and policy advisors.

Theo van de Klundert

Papers

Imperfect competition, concentration and growth with firm-specific R & D

Biased Efficiency Growth and Capital-Labor Substitution in the U.S., 1899-1960Biased Efficiency Growth and Capital-Labor Substitution in the U.S., 1899-1960

Growth, Competition and Welfare

North-south knowledge spillovers and competition: Convergence versus divergence

Applied general equilibrium modelling