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on Entrepreneurship |
| By: | D'Allesandro, Francesco; Santarelli, Enrico; Vivarelli, Marco |
| Abstract: | In this paper we integrate the insights of the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (KSTE+I) with Schumpeter's idea that innovative entrepreneurs creatively apply available local knowledge, possibly mediated by Marshallian, Jacobian and Porter spillovers. In more detail, in this study we assess the degree of pervasiveness and the level of opportunities brought about by AI technologies by testing the possible correlation between the regional AI knowledge stock and the number of new innovative ventures (that is startups patenting in any technological field in the year of their foundation). Empirically, by focusing on 287 Nuts-2 European regions, we test whether the local AI stock of knowledge exerts an enabling role in fostering innovative entry within AI-related local industries (AI technologies as focused enablers) and within non AI-related local industries, as well (AI technologies as generalised enablers). Results from Negative Binomial fixed-effect and Poisson fixed-effect regressions (controlled for a variety of concurrent drivers of entrepreneurship) reveal that the local AI knowledge stock does promote the spread of innovative startups, so supporting both the KSTE+I approach and the enabling role of AI technologies; however, this relationship is confirmed only with regard to the sole high-tech/AI-related industries. |
| JEL: | O33 L26 |
| Date: | 2024–08–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2024016 |
| By: | Caldarola, Bernardo (Mt Economic Research Inst on Innov/Techn, RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research); Fontanelli, Luca |
| Abstract: | Recent empirical evidence finds positive associations between digitalisation and industry concentration. However, ICT may not be all alike. We investigate the effect of the purchase of cloud services on the long run size growth rate of French firms. Our findings suggest that cloud services positively impact firm growth rates, with smaller firms experiencing more significant benefits compared to larger firms. This evidence suggests that the diffusion of cloud technologies may help mitigate concentration in the era of the digital transition by favouring the digitalisation and growth of smaller firms, especially when the cloud services provided are more advanced. |
| JEL: | L20 L25 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–09–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2024026 |
| By: | Melissa Chow; Martha Stinson |
| Abstract: | The Business Dynamics Statistics of Coastal Counties (BDS-CC) is a new experimental data product extending the set of statistics published by the Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS) program to provide more detail on businesses operating in coastal regions of the United States. The BDS-CC provides annual measures of employment, the number of establishments and firms, job creation, job destruction, openings, and closings for businesses in Coastal Shoreline (CS), Coastal Non-Shoreline (CNS), and Non-Coastal (NC) counties. Counties are grouped into these categories based on definitions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This product allows for comparisons across industries and coastal regions of the impact of natural disasters and other events that affect coastal areas. The BDS-CC series provides annual statistics for 1978 to 2022 for each of the coastal categories by firm size and firm age, initial firm size, establishment size and establishment age, initial establishment size, sector, 3-digit NAICS code, 4-digit NAICS code, urban/rural categories, and various coastal regions. Following a description of the data and methodology, we highlight some historical trends and analyses conducted using these data. |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:25-08 |
| By: | Bambe, Bao-We-Wal |
| Abstract: | Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require significant financing and investment, particularly as growing challenges from climate events highlight the insufficiency of public funds to meet the 2030 Agenda (World Economic Forum 2024). Private capital for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) surged in recent years, with significant commitments from multilateral development banks (MDBs). However, the financing gap to achieve the SDGs remains sizable, highlighting the need for greater effort to mobilise much larger private capital for sustainable development. In recent years, guarantees have emerged as a key leveraging mechanism. They are designed to mitigate high investment risks to support private capital mobilisation in LMICs. However, despite some progress, guarantees are used sparingly, suggesting considerable scope for increasing their scale, as highlighted by the G20 Independent Expert Group (IEG). This Policy Brief examines whether guarantees can serve as an effective leveraging mechanism for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This is especially so because SMEs remain largely hampered by poor access to finance, despite their key role in providing jobs for the local population and contributing to economic growth. Moreover, in the face of climate change, SME adaptation requires new investments in climate-resistant technologies and clean energies, highlighting the need for additional financing amid severe constraints on access to capital. Guarantees can complement other leveraging mechanisms, further easing financing constraints for SMEs in LMICs. Guarantees can absorb some of the risks associated with investment, offering financial institutions greater security. This added security can, in turn, help improve access to capital for SMEs. On the other hand, they can also help catalyse private sector investment in LMICs. Recognising both the potential benefits and short-comings of guarantees, this Policy Brief provides the following policy recommendations on how guarantees could be extended efficiently to the SME sector in LMICs. - Guarantees should be directed at financial institu-tions to mitigate portfolio risk and actively promote lending to small projects or SMEs in high-risk sectors, particularly those with the potential to generate substantial economic, environmental, or social benefits. - Complement guarantees with additional measures to improve SMEs' financial management, enhance risk assessment, and strengthen technical capacity through professional training and advisory services. - Implement partial credit guarantees to require financial institutions to retain a share of the risk, thereby reducing moral hazard and promoting rigorous analyses of borrowers' creditworthiness. Complement these guarantees with conditionalities and monitoring criteria, such as regular reporting, to ensure the incrementality and additionality of guaranteed financing. Enhance the harmonisation of guarantees with other leveraging mechanisms, improve coordination among MDBs and DFIs, and streamline guarantee frameworks to achieve greater efficiency. - Recognise that guarantees alone cannot address structural vulnerabilities and institutional weakness in LMICs; a long-term commitment from decision-makers is essential to improve institutional and economic performance. |
| Keywords: | Guarantees, Multilateral Developemnt Banks, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Low- and Middle-income Countries, 2030 Agenda |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:idospb:309600 |
| By: | Oikawa , Keita (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia); Iwasaki , Fusanori (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia); Sawada, Yasuyuki (University of Tokyo); Shinozaki, Shigehiro (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic profoundly impacted people’s lives, social activities, and businesses. It particularly affected micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which account for the vast majority of firms and most of the labor force. Compared to larger firms, MSMEs were less able to absorb the pandemic’s shocks, both in developed and developing economies. While digital technologies, such as e-commerce platforms, were often seen as effective tools for businesses where in-person communications are restricted, they did not guarantee the success of MSMEs. An Indonesian study showed that adopting digital technologies did not always result in positive business outcomes for MSMEs during the early stages of the pandemic (Oikawa et al. 2024a). This paper investigates whether e-commerce use in the Philippines strengthened MSME performance during the pandemic, based on a unique Asian Development Bank dataset on the impact of COVID-19 on Philippine businesses from 2020 to 2021. The findings reveal that internet or e-commerce use did not lead to better MSME outcomes during the strict lockdown in March 2020. In fact, performance sometimes worsened. However, by August 2020, the negative effects had lessened, and by March 2021, one year into the pandemic, a positive impact had emerged. These results are consistent with the Indonesia study by Oikawa et al (2024a). |
| Keywords: | digitalization; digital financial services; access to finance; SME development; SME policy; Philippines |
| JEL: | D22 G20 L20 L50 |
| Date: | 2025–02–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0767 |
| By: | Joseph Ikechukwu Uduji (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Nduka Vitalis Elda Okolo-Obasi (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Joy Ukamaka Uduji (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Steve Emeka Emengin (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Longinus Chukwudi Odoh (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Rollins Chiyem Iyadi (Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies’ (MOCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of the global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on capacity development for small-scale women entrepreneurs in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts a survey research technique, aimed at gathering information from a representative sample of the population, as it is essentially cross-sectional, describing and interpreting the current situation. A total of 768 women respondents were sampled across the rural areas of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria. Findings – The results from the use of a combined propensity score matching and logit model indicate that though, a meagre part of the CSR intervention are targeted specifically for capacity empowerment of women, the CSR of the MOCs using the GMoU model has recorded little but significant success in building capacity of women in the areas of enhancing educational status, reduction in socio-economic barriers, access to credit, starting personal business enterprises, undertaking paid employment, and generally enhancing means of livelihoods. Practical implications – This suggests that if CSR interventions are not tailored to enhanced opportunities for women, they may contribute towards reducing the participation of women in economic, political and social development and, by extension, damping efforts of reducing poverty and achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the Niger Delta. Social implications – This implies that the private sector, generally, can play an important role in addressing some of the logistical and cultural challenges that face rural women, and promote gender diversity and more equal access to economic opportunity through the CSR programmes in host communities. Originality/value – This research contributes to the inequality debate in small-scale entrepreneurship and inclusive growth literature from the CSR perspective. It concludes that business has an obligation to help in solving problems of public concern. |
| Keywords: | Gender equality, small-scale entrepreneurs, corporate social responsibility, multinational oil companies, sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aak:wpaper:24/014 |
| By: | Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew; de Brauw, Alan |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the employment characteristics of food micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), using survey data collected from 1, 686 food vendors in Addis Ababa and Butajira, Ethiopia. The data suggest that 74 percent of the enterprises were formal or had a tax identification number. The average number of workers across enterprises was 2.3, which varies between 1.2 as in the case of street sellers and 5.3 as in the case of restaurants. Among enterprises with an additional worker besides the owner, only about 32 percent of them had part-time workers. The share of youth in part-time and full-time employment was 43 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Adults especially women constituted the majority of both full-time and part-time workers. More than 53 percent of the enterprises were owned and operated by women, but the significant majority of them were one-person enterprises, suggesting that women-owned enterprises are less likely to create additional jobs. In fact, results from the logistic regressions suggest that the odds of women-owned enterprises employing anyone were between 0.53 to 0.62 times the odds of men-owned enterprises. Only 17 percent of the enterprises had outstanding loans at the time of the survey. However, the relationship between loan uptake status and the number of workers was not strong. Results also indicate that the number of workers was positively and significantly associated with the size of enterprise revenue but the relationship with profitability was not strong, possibly because the size of profits per worker was quite low. To put this in perspective, the size of profits per worker (for example, for street sellers who are mostly self-employed and rarely take their wages into account during cost calculations) was less than the cost of a healthy diet. Overall, while the food MSMEs in the study sites may have the potential to deliver food at lower cost and contribute to gender and social inclusion through self-employment, the scope of food MSMEs, especially those run by women, to generate additional employment appears to be limited. |
| Keywords: | employment; enterprises; gender; women; youth; Africa; Eastern Africa; Ethiopia |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:cgiarp:168503 |
| By: | Joseph Ikechukwu Uduji (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Elda Nduka Okolo-Obasi (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | Purpose – The purpose of this paper is critically examine the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of NFWP on social cohesion in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts a quasi-experimental research design in order to address the scarcity of quantitative studies on women’s groups in Nigeria. A total of 2400 respondents were sampled across the rural areas of the six geographical regions of the country. Findings - Results from the use of a combined propensity score matching and logit model indicate that though scrimpy, the NFWP intervention targeted specifically for the empowerment of women, using the WAG model has recorded significant set up in improving women’s formation of social capital through advocacy, awareness creation, provision of credit, training of women on skill acquisition, among other activities. Practical implications – This suggests that an increase in Nigeria for Women Project budget that seeks to expand participation of women in women’s groups, targeted at increasing women’s social cohesion, especially in the rural communities will help lift women and girls out of poverty in the country. Social implications - It implies that women’s groups that serve as production cooperatives, saving associations, and marketing groups can enhance women’s performance in entrepreneurship development and boost rural economy production in Nigeria. Originality/value – This research contributes to the growing field of female entreprenurial collaboration by proposing the moderation of social cohesion as a means to sustain agriculture and rural development in developing countries. It concludes that targeting women’s groups should form the foundation of public policy for social cohesion in women’s entrepreneurship development for rural economy. |
| Keywords: | Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP), women’s groups, social cohesion, women’s entrepreneurship development, sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aak:wpaper:24/018 |
| By: | Annamaria Fiore |
| Abstract: | The report analyzes labor market developments in Europe, Italy, and Puglia post-COVID-19, highlighting the crucial role of human capital and productive specialization in employment recovery. Based on Eurostat and ISTAT data, the study examines how human resources and innovation stabilized employment rates in hard-hit areas. The report emphasizes the link between employment growth, productive specialization, and tertiary education. In Puglia, high local unit density, entrepreneurship, and qualified human capital drove positive employment trends. The document concludes with recommendations for integrated policies promoting advanced education, continuous training, and entrepreneurship to sustain long-term employment growth. |
| Date: | 2024–11–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:awg:insrep:ir13 |
| By: | Antoine Bozio (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IPP - Institut des politiques publiques, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Étienne Fize (IPP - Institut des politiques publiques); Arthur Guillouzouic (IPP - Institut des politiques publiques); Clément Malgouyres (CREST - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Statistique [Bruz] - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz], PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IPP - Institut des politiques publiques, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Laurent Bach (ESSEC Business School) |
| Abstract: | L'objectif affiché des réformes de la fiscalité du capital mises en place entre 2017 et 2018 était de baisser la fiscalité sur le capital afin de soutenir l'investissement privé, et in fine la croissance de l'économie française. L'enjeu d'évaluation est donc de pouvoir quantifier ces potentiels effets sur l'investissement, et plus généralement sur la circulation du capital dans l'économie. Les précédents travaux de recherche menés jusqu'à présent n'ont pas mis en évidence d'effets sur l'investissement de la mise en place du PFU pour les entreprises déjà existantes (Bach et al., 2021a), et le constat s'est avéré similaire pour la transformation de l'ISF en IFI (Bach et al., 2021b). La marge intensive de l'investissement ne semble donc pas être une marge de réponse comportementale majeure aux modifications de la fiscalité sur la distribution des revenus ou sur le stock de capital. Les travaux de recherche sur données françaises ont, par contre, mis en évidence une forte réaction de la distribution des revenus du capital à ces réformes, avec notamment une très forte hausse de la distribution des dividendes à la mise en place du PFU (Bach et al., 2019, 2021a), mais aussi à la mise en place de l'IFI avec la suppression du mécanisme du plafonnement (Bach et al., 2023). L'objectif de l'étude présentée dans ce rapport est de compléter ces travaux en mesurant l'impact des réformes du PFU et de l'IFI sur des décisions d'investissement à la marge extensive, c'est-à-dire correspondant à des choix discrets d'investissement comme la création d'entreprise, l'expatriation ou au retour d'entrepreneurs, et les décisions de réinvestissement de capital. |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-04439415 |