Entrepreneurship,innovation and economic growth

The linkages among entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation and economic growth are only vaguely understood presently. This paper is an attempt to improve that understanding. The first step in establishing the linkages requires the formulation of knowledge about the psychological make-up of entrepreneurs. These questions are pertinent: What motivates humans to become entrepreneurs? Are entrepreneurs “rational economic men”? How important are monetary rewards to entrepreneurial creativity ? The second step requires information about how the human brain functions. The brain is bi-hemispheric and both sides of the brain play an important role in human decision-making. Nevertheless, we have a cultural bias in favor of the functions performed by the brain's left side. The third step requires an understanding of the process of creation and innovation. Several stages in this process have been identified. The stages of preparation, incubation, and illumination involve the brain's right hemisphere while the verification stage involves the left hemisphere. The final step integrates the first three. We assume that entrepreneurship is an essential determinant of economic growth, that the entrepreneurial function involves creation and innovation, and that entrepreneurship can be taught. This article is intended to provoke thinking and research incorporating new insights from several disciplines. These insights appear to bear more on entrepreneurship than is generally acknowledged.     

The dimension,nature and distribution of economic insecurity in European countries: A multidimensional approach

Economic insecurity is a key well-being outcome because the anticipation of future economic distress reveals itself as a true threat to current well-being. Insecurity has been shown to affect quality of life and to change an individual’s consumption, fertility, labor supply and even political support decisions to mitigate risk. This paper provides evidence on the dimension, nature and distribution of economic insecurity for 27 European countries during a whole decade by using a multidimensional individual approach that considers both objective and subjective indicators. The young, the less educated and the unemployed living in households with dependent children have significantly higher levels of economic insecurity everywhere. However, insecurity affects the population in the middle class only in some countries but not in others, and the level of insecurity in liberal regimes is more linked to large income losses than elsewhere. The role of objective versus subjective dimensions is larger in post-transition Eastern European regimes than in long-standing capitalist countries.     

Foreign capital inflows, economic growth and stock market capitalization in Asian countries: an ARDL bound testing approach

This study investigates the effects of foreign capital inflows and economic growth on stock market capitalization in 18 Asian countries by using the panel data from the period of 2000–2010. The ARDL bound testing cointegration approach confirms the valid long run relationship between the considered variables. Results indicate that foreign direct investment has significant negative and economic growth has significant positive relationship with the stock market capitalization, whereas, the results of workers’ remittances is found insignificant in long run. The error correction model confirms the significant positive relationship of economic growth and workers’ remittances while, FDI has negative and significant impact on stock market capitalization in short run. Results of causality test based on Toda and Yamamoto (J Econom 66: 225–250, 1995) show the bidirectional causal relationship of foreign direct investment and economic growth with stock market capitalization. However, no causal relationship is found in between workers’ remittances and stock market capitalization. It is suggested that investor should not idealize the inflow of workers’ remittances to invest in Asian stock markets in long run. Simultaneously, size of the economy is a better leading indicator for Asian stock markets. On the other hand, inflows of FDI may mislead the investor to invest. Investor should keep on eye whether FDI come in the competition of domestic market or not? If this happens so investor should not invest in the stock market of host country.     

The role of insurance growth in economic growth: Fresh evidence from a panel of OECD countries

Insurance is one of the key activities in a globalised financial and economic environment. Through its benefits, it offers income, life and property protection to the insured and their keens, as well as income accumulation that can be used at retirement to help preserve the desired lifestyle or living standards. Motivated by this end of insurance, the goal of this paper is to study the contribution of insurance growth to economic growth, by employing the benefit side of the insurance activity, next to the acquisition side that has already been considered. More precisely, the findings provide evidence that gross claims payments and gross operating expenses are significantly and positively related to economic growth. At the same time, the results confirm the findings of the existing literature that gross premia and insurance penetration are also significantly and positively related to economic growth. The outcomes hold true for total, life and non-life insurance, both during the pre- and post- 2008-crisis periods, even though less strong after the crisis. Furthermore, the positive and statistically significant impact of gross capital formation, government expenditure, secondary schooling, FDI inflows, trade openness and financial development is validated, in line with certain theoretical expectations.     

Entrepreneurship and economic growth: Evidence from emerging and developed countries

This paper presents an extension to the economic growth model developed by Wong, Ho, and Autio (2005 Autio, E. 2005. 2005 report on high-expectation entrepreneurship, Toronto: GEM Consortium.  [Google Scholar]), to reflect differences in the economic effects of opportunity and necessity-based entrepreneurship in both emerging and developed countries. Data from 44 countries for the years 2004 and 2005, as collected by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research and Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) research, are used to identify predictors of GDP growth for emerging and developed nations. The GEM data are used to determine the effect of different types of entrepreneurship on GDP growth. The GCR data operationalize additional control variables suggested by three economic growth theories: new economic geography, endogenous growth theory and national systems of innovation. This contribution to the literature suggests that, in developed countries, a significant portion of economic growth rates can be attributed to high-expectation entrepreneurs exploiting national investments in knowledge creation and regulatory freedom. However, in emerging countries this effect is absent. It is hypothesized that a threshold exists for entrepreneurs to gain access to the formal economy, below which entrepreneurial contributions act through informal mechanisms.     

The impact of state power on economic growth rates in OECD countries

Inspired by public choice theories — in particular the work of Bernholz, Downs, Olson and Tullock — two propositions are advanced. First, the older a democracy is, the slower its growth rates should become. Second, the higher the social security spending is, the slower economic growth rates should become. Pooled regression analysis and the growth experience of 19 OECD nations between 1960 and 1985 allow for an empirical test. Unfortunately, results very much depend on a technical issue, i.e., on the inclusion or exclusion of period and country dummy variables. It is argued that inclusion of the dummies is misleading. If you accept these arguments, then the propositions linking age of democracy or social security transfers on the one hand and lower economic growth rates on the other hand are confirmed.     

Innovation,finance, and economic growth: an agent-based approach

This paper extends the endogenous growth agent-based model in Fagiolo and Dosi (Struct Change Econ Dyn 14(3):237–273, 2003) to study the finance–growth nexus. We explore industries where firms produce a homogeneous good using existing technologies, perform R&D activities to introduce new techniques, and imitate the most productive practices. Unlike the original model, we assume that both exploration and imitation require resources provided by banks, which pool agent savings and finance new projects via loans. We find that banking activity has a positive impact on growth. However, excessive financialization can hamper growth. Indeed, we find a significant and robust inverted U-shaped relation between financial depth and growth. Overall, our results stress the fundamental (and still poorly understood) role played by innovation in the finance–growth nexus.

     

Exploring the effectiveness of research and innovation policies among European Union countries

In this paper we explore the effectiveness of selected research and innovation policies among EU countries. Using data from the AEGIS database and information from the 2015 Bruegel’s Partnership report on research and innovation polices in EU countries, we compare and contrast the response of knowledge intensive firms to a sample of policies. We find that the impact of the policies in our sample varies not only across countries but also across the age of affected firms in those countries. We conclude our analysis with a call for policy makers to begin to investigate the incidence of the impact of their research and innovation policies as measured not only by the age of firms but also by other dimensions.     

Learning and relationship orientation: an empirical examination in European museums

• The purpose of this paper is to assess the interrelations between learning orientation, innovation strategy, relationship orientation and economic and social performance in the management of cultural organizations such as museums. We first provide a review of the literature addressing the main constructs involved in the research: learning orientation, innovation, relationship orientation and performance, and we detail the model's hypotheses reflecting the interrelations amongst the proposed variables. Building on extensive literature, a model is developed and empirically tested using survey data collected from 491 European museums in Spain, France, Italy and the UK. Data are analysed through structural equation modelling. In the present study, evidence is found to support the positive and significant link between learning orientation and internal (organizational innovation) as well as external (relationship orientation) changes in museums. Further, we find that organizational innovation and relationship orientation aid the introduction of greater technological developments in these organizations. We also find evidence to support the idea that learning orientation, innovation strategy and relationship orientation impact the economic and social performance of museums. Findings clearly show that achieving organizational objectives through learning processes necessarily entails the introduction of internal changes—innovation—and external relationships—relationship orientation.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An examination of the causal relationship between savings and growth in the third world

Past studies reveal a correlation between savings and GDP growth in the Third World. Those studies hypothesize that higher rates of savings cause higher growth rates of real GDP. This paper explores an alternative hypothesis: that higher growth rates of GDP cause increased savings. Higher growth rates of income boost the rate of savings and attract more foreign savings. The difference between these two hypotheses is the direction of causality. This study investigates the direction of causality using the Engle-Granger error-correction model or the Granger causality test, whichever is appropriate. The findings support the latter hypothesis in more cases.     

Class diversification,economic growth and urban sprawl: evidences from a pre-crisis European city

Economic expansion indirectly promotes class diversification at the neighbourhood scale with a consequent reduction of social divides at the regional scale. To verify this working hypothesis, the present study investigates class diversification at both spatial scales in a Mediterranean city (Athens, Greece) using the European Socioeconomic Classification based on population census data referring to 1991–2001, a phase of economic expansion and intense urban sprawl preceding the 2004 Olympic games. Results of multivariate analysis and diversity indexes outline a local-scale social mix associated to suburban expansion, and regional-scale class segregation, reflecting an increasing polarization in affluent and economically deprived urban districts. The contrasting pattern at the two spatial scales results in a complex social geography with class diversification and moderate changes over time in the economic spatial divide between urban and neighbouring rural areas. These findings contribute to design scale-dependent policies reducing social inequalities and improving quality of life in urban areas. Future paths for socio-spatial processes were delineated for sprawling metropolitan regions under economic expansion and discussed in the light of future demographic trends in both developed and emerging countries.     

Stock markets,banks and the sources of economic growth in low and high income countries

This paper studies the effects of stock markets and banks on the sources of economic growth, productivity and capital accumulation, using a large cross country panel that includes high- and low-income countries. Results show that, in low-income countries, banks have a sizable positive effect on capital accumulation. We find that stock markets, however, have not contributed to capital accumulation or productivity growth in these countries. Given the emphasis that has been placed in developing equity markets in developing countries, these findings are somewhat surprising. Conversely, in high-income countries, stock markets are found to have sizable positive effects on both productivity and capital growth, while banks only affect capital accumulation.     

Health human capital and economic growth in Sub-Saharan African and OECD countries

This paper investigates the effects of health human capital on the growth rate of per capita income in Sub-Saharan African and OECD countries. Using an expanded Solow growth model, panel data, and a dynamic panel estimator, we find that the growth rate of per capita income is strongly and positively influenced by the stock of, and investment in, health human capital after controlling for other variables. The stock of health human capital affects the growth rate of per capita income in a quadratic way: the growth impact of health human capital decreases at relatively large endowments of health stock. Our estimates suggest that 22% and 30% of the transition growth rate of per capita income in Sub-Saharan African and OECD countries respectively, can be attributed to health. The structure of the relationship between health human capital and the growth rate of income in Sub-Saharan African countries is similar to the structure of the relationship in OECD countries. This implies that increased stocks of health human capital leads to higher steady state income. Our results have interesting policy implications.     

Public banking and economic growth: The experiences of 10 countries since the 1950s until 2017

Despite the limited number of empirical works assessing the implications of public banks for economic growth, a wave of these institutions has arisen since 2000. With this in mind, this paper investigates the linkage between these banks and long-run growth in 10 countries. We find discouraging evidence on the role of these institutions in the growth process as public banks contributed to long-run economic growth in only two countries. More precisely, the public bank raised the gross domestic product in the Dominican Republic and investment in Singapore. In the remaining eight countries, long-run growth was harmed, or we did not find a long-run nexus running from the public bank. This is particularly surprising because some public banks in our sample have a long history of proper management and were given an important role in their country's development. We find long-run reverse causality in five countries, and, in all of them but in one, a larger gross domestic product per capita expanded public banks’ assets. Therefore, public banks were following the economic cycle. Considering all this, governments that aim to accelerate economic growth should be more cautious about the creation or promotion of these entities.     

Financial development and economic growth: an empirical evidence from the GCC countries using static and dynamic panel data

This paper contributes to the existing empirics of finance-growth nexus of all GCC countries with new results based on a larger dataset and longer time period 1975–2012, incorporating additional control variables, FDI, interaction term of FDI & financial development variables, and oil production. We employed four estimation techniques, Pooled OLS, Fixed effect estimation, Random effect estimation, and the system GMM estimation and used static and dynamic panel data. We obtain a robust finding of consistently a positive effect of financial sector development (FSD) on economic growth of GCC region with implication that a substantial improvement in FSD was in place. The results indicate that FDI, Fixed capital formation and oil production contribute positively to the economic growth of this region. The study results signify for a continuity of the on-going financial reform process, supervision & monitoring exercises to bring hitherto more dividends to the GCC economies.     

An agent-based model of innovation diffusion: network structure and coexistence under different information regimes

The paper analyzes how the structure of social networks affects innovation diffusion and competition under different information regimes. Diffusion is modeled as the result of idiosyncratic adoption thresholds, local network effects and information diffusion (broadcasting and demonstration effect from previous adopters). A high social cohesion decreases the probability of one innovation cornering the market. Nonetheless, with imperfect information, in small-world networks the higher speed of diffusion produced by the low average distance increases this probability. A low social cohesion also increases the probability of falling into traps of under-adoption. However, such probability is significantly lower with imperfect information, because such regime is characterized by higher levels of market concentrations and this reduces the frictions due to the coexistence of non-compatible product innovations.     

The European single market and the regulation of the legal profession: an economic analysis

The article analyses the effect of removing barriers between two autarkic legal markets with different technologies. Firms using the more efficient technology penetrate the other market. The result is mergers between firms from the efficient jurisdictions and those in the inefficient jurisdictions. Social welfare increases from reduced resource costs in the production of legal services even if prices remain regulated. This leads to pressure for prices for legal services to be reduced. Recent trends in the penetration of EU legal markets by English solicitors firms are discussed, particularly recent mergers involving English and German law firms. Implications for future market regulation are drawn. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

External resources and economic growth: New evidence from EAGLE countries using PMG framework

This study attempts to explore the relationship between economic growth and external resources in the case of emerging and growth-leading economies (EAGLE). Among these economies, a panel of eight countries was studied over the period of 1986–2014. Empirical analyses were performed using panel cointegration and pooled mean group framework. Our findings support positive long- and short-run relationships between imports and gross domestic product (GDP). The results also reveal a negative and significant long-run relationship between foreign direct investment and GDP, whereas no significant evidence has been noted for the short run. Moreover, remittances in EAGLE countries have failed to justify any contribution to GDP in both long and short runs.     

Remittances and economic growth in Africa, Asia, and Latin American-Caribbean countries: a panel unit root and panel cointegration analysis

This study estimates the macroeconomic impact of remittances and some control variables such as openness of the economy, capital/labor ratio, and economic freedom on the economic growth of African, Asian, and Latin American-Caribbean countries using newly developed panel unit-root tests, cointegration tests, and Panel Fully Modified OLS (PFMOLS). We use annual panel data from 1985–2007for 64 countries consisting of 29 from Africa, 14 from Asia, and 21 from Latin America and the Caribbean region, respectively. We find that remittances, openness of the economy, and capital labor ratio have positive and significant effect on economic growth for all regions as a group and in each of the three in study. While the economic freedom index also has a positive and significant effect on growth in Africa and Latin America, however, its effect on the economic growth of Asia is mixed.