To date, the phenomenon of entrepreneurship has lacked a conceptual framework. In this note we draw upon previous research conducted in the different social science disciplines and applied fields of business to create a conceptual framework for the field. With this framework we explain a set of empirical phenomena and predict a set of outcomes not explained or predicted by conceptual frameworks already in existence in other fields.

The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research

计量经济分析 = Econometric analysis

This survey reviews the growing use of patent data in economic analysis. After describing some of the main characteristics of patents and patent data, it focuses on the use of patents as an indicator of technological change. Cross-sectional and time-series studies of the relationship of patents to R&D expenditures are reviewed, as well as scattered estimates of the distribution of patent values and the value of patent rights, the latter being based on recent analyses of European patent renewal data. Time-series trends of patents granted in the U.S. are examined and their decline in the 1970s is found to be an artifact of the budget stringencies at the Patent Office. The longer run downward trend in patents per R&D dollar is interpreted not as an indication of diminishing returns but rather as a reflection of the changing meaning of such data over time. The conclusion is reached that, in spite of many difficulties and reservations, patent data remain a unique resource for the study of technical change.

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Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: A Survey

To assess the effects of a firm's network of relations on innovation, this paper elaborates a theoretical framework that relates three aspects of a firm's ego network—direct ties, indirect ties, an...

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Collaboration Networks, Structural Holes, and Innovation: A Longitudinal Study:

Offering a unifying theoretical perspective not readily available in any other text, this innovative guide to econometrics uses simple geometrical arguments to develop students' intuitive understanding of basic and advanced topics, emphasizing throughout the practical applications of modern theory and nonlinear techniques of estimation. One theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification. Explaining how estimates can be obtained and tests can be carried out, the authors go beyond a mere algebraic description to one that can be easily translated into the commands of a standard econometric software package. Covering an unprecedented range of problems with a consistent emphasis on those that arise in applied work, this accessible and coherent guide to the most vital topics in econometrics today is indispensable for advanced students of econometrics and students of statistics interested in regression and related topics. It will also suit practising econometricians who want to update their skills. Flexibly designed to accommodate a variety of course levels, it offers both complete coverage of the basic material and separate chapters on areas of specialized interest.

Estimation and Inference in Econometrics

There is a tremendous diversity in the level and time-series pattern of the self-employment rate across countries. After documenting this fact with cross-section and time-series data on industrialized and lesser-developed countries, this paper presents and tests a series of hypotheses concerning the sources of this diversity. We show that the major explanation for this diversity is the stage of economic development. While the tendency for the self-employment rate to decline with economic development has long been recognized, this paper is the first attempt to estimate the statistical relationship between self-employment and economic development and to test an explanation for this relationship that is grounded in theory. We also show that the negative relationship between self-employment and economic development remains after controlling for a number of other factors. Although economic development is an extremely powerful force behind the secular decline in self-employment rates, the convergence of several factors in the 1970s tended to stem the secular decline in the self-employment rate for many countries. Of the 23 OECD countries we examined, 15 had increases in the self-employment rate during the 1970s or 1980s. It is likely, however, that these factors are temporary and that self-employment will continue its downwards trend as per-capita wealth increases in the developed and developing world.

Why Does the Self-Employment Rate Vary Across Countries and Over Time?

. Motivated by differences in new-firm survival across regions, this paper explores the impact of regional human capital on new-firm survival rates. New-firm survival is interpreted through formation rates of surviving versus closed firms in the service sector. By incorporating knowledge spillovers through a geographical variation model for Labour Market Areas, we empirically test the relationship between regional human capital stocks and new-firm survival. The expected positive relationship between regional human capital and new-firm survival is supported for the period 1993–1995, but is not as strong for the recession period 1990–1992. Controlling for human capital, the new-firm survival rate is negatively related to service sector specialisation and positively related to all-industry intensity, suggesting that city size and diversity may be an important determinant of new-firm survival in both periods.

Abstract.  Motivado por las diferencias entre economias regionales en la supervivencia de nuevas empresas, este articulo explora el impacto del capital humano regional en las tasas de supervivencia de nuevas empresas. La supervivencia de nuevas empresas se interpreta a traves de las tasas de formacion de empresas supervivientes respecto de empresas que han cerrado en el sector servicios. Mediante la incorporacion de spillovers (efectos derrame) de conocimiento en un modelo de variacion geografica para Areas de Mercado Laboral, analizamos empiricamente la relacion entre reservas de capital humano y la supervivencia de nuevas empresas. La esperada relacion positiva entre el capital humano regional y la supervivencia de nuevas empresas es valida para el periodo 1993-1995, pero no lo es tanto para el periodo de recesion 1990-1992. Controlando la variable capital humano, la tasa de supervivencia de nuevas empresas esta relacionada negativamente con la especializacion del sector servicios y positivamente relacionada a la intensidad del total de industrias, sugiriendo que el tamano de la ciudad y la diversidad podria ser un factor determinante de la supervivencia de nuevas empresas en ambos periodos.

The determinants of new-firm survival across regional economies: The role of human capital stock and knowledge spillover*

New-firm startup activity is examined within a framework pooling a cross-section of 117 industries over six time periods between 1976 and 1986 A model is introduced relating startup activity both to elements of the business cycle, in particular the macroeconomic growth rate, the cost of capital, and the unemployment rate, and to industry-specific characteristics, especially the technological conditions underlying the industry The pooled cross-section regression results suggest that macroeconomic fluctuations as well as industry-specific elements contribute to startup activity While new-firm startups respond positively to macroeconomic growth, they are promoted by a low cost of capital and high unemployment rate A somewhat surprising result is that new-firm startups are not apparently deterred in capital intensive industries and where R&D expenditures play an important role The empirical results suggest that new firms may be able to overcome their inherent size and experience disadvantages in such markets through exploiting university research and pursuing innovative activity

New-firm startups, technology, and macroeconomic fluctuations

McCann P and Acs Z J Globalization: countries, cities and multinationals, Regional Studies This paper explores the relationship between the size of a country, the size of its cities, and the importance of economies of scale in the modern era of globalization In order to do this, it integrates three different literatures, namely the literature on the optimal size of a country, the literature on historical processes of urbanization and the performance of cities, and the literature on the role of multinational firms in the global economy Using an economic geography perspective, but looking at these issues through the lens of economic history, it is demonstrated that the importance of agglomeration effects, and in particular relationship between city size and the prosperity of the nation-state, has changed over the different eras of globalization In earlier eras of globalization, the importance of agglomeration was represented by a fairly simple relationship between the scale of the city and the scale 

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Globalization: Countries, Cities and Multinationals

If one is to understand why some regions grow and others stagnate, there are three fundamental questions that need to be answered. First, Why and when does economic activity become concentrated in a few regions, leaving others relatively underdeveloped? Second, What role does technological change play in regional economic growth? Third, How does technological advance occur, and what are the key processes and institutions involved? To answer these three questions, the authors surveyed three separate and distinct literatures that have a long and distinguished history, and all three have been recently reexamined. They include the new economic geography (Krugman), the new growth theory (Romer), and the new economics of innovation (Nelson).

Zoltan J. Acs

Papers

Why Does the Self-Employment Rate Vary Across Countries and Over Time?

The determinants of new-firm survival across regional economies: The role of human capital stock and knowledge spillover*

New-firm startups, technology, and macroeconomic fluctuations

Globalization: Countries, Cities and Multinationals

Geography, Endogenous Growth, and Innovation: