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Entrepreneurship is often seen as the cure-all solution for poverty reduction. Proponents argue that it leads to job creation, higher incomes and lower poverty rates in the cities in which it occurs. Others argue that many entrepreneurs are actually creating low-productivity firms serving local markets. Yet, despite this debate, little research has considered the impact of entrepreneurship on poverty in cities. This paper addresses this gap using a panel of US cities for the period between 2005 and 2015. We hypothesize that the impact of entrepreneurship will depend on whether it is in tradeable sectors, so likely to have positive local multiplier effects, or non-tradeable sectors, which may saturate local markets. We find that entrepreneurship in tradeables reduces poverty and increases incomes for non-entrepreneurs, a result we confirm using an instrumental variable approach, taking the inheritance of entrepreneurial traits as the instruments. In contrast, while there are some economic benefits from non-tradeable entrepreneurship, we find these are not large enough to reduce poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social enterprise and innovation are inextricably linked in the literature (Chell et al. in Entrepr Reg Dev 22(6):485-493, 2010; Dees in Harv Bus Rev 76:54, 1998; Light in Stanf Soc Innov Rev 4(3):47-51, 2006). To date, research on social enterprise innovation has predominantly focused on micro-level factors, such as the social entrepreneur or organizational attributes. Inversely, recent empirical advances on social enterprise find a country’s social enterprise sector is influenced by macro-institutional factors, including form of government, stage of economic development, culture and model of civil society (Monroe-White and Coskun, in: Shaping social enterprise: understanding institutional context and influence, Emerald Publishing Limited, London, pp 27-48, 2017). Given the link between social enterprise and innovation, recent empirical findings around social enterprise beg the question, do macro-institutional factors similarly predict innovation by social enterprises? This paper uses a hierarchical linear model to examine the influence of national-level variables on social enterprise innovation. Results indicate that similar to social enterprise, macro-institutional factors predict social enterprise innovation. More specifically, macro-institutional factors influence the various types of innovations (product, process and marketing) differently. Moreover, country-level innovation is traditionally defined by economic factors, such as R&D funding and STEM workforce, however, these factors do not help explain social enterprise innovation. Given the social aspects of social enterprise innovation, to capture the full scope of innovation within countries, expanded definitions of national-level innovation should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Innovation in local economic development strategy is necessary to support struggling regions and foster growth across municipalities with varying resources and needs. This paper presents a case of innovation in local economic development strategy to illustrate how institutional entrepreneurship can be used as a tool to help local governments innovatively approach economic development strategy. Through the creation of the Wireless Research Center of North Carolina, institutional entrepreneurs transformed the institutionalized role for local government in economic development, while simultaneously creating a new institutional form that would support local development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities are commonly seen by policy makers as being key actors in the knowledge-based economy. In the United States, universities, but particularly research universities, have been the focus of many studies which have sought to document and explain the commercial impact of university-based research on regional economies. For example, studies have analyzed the extent and outcomes of academic entrepreneurship and of university-industry collaborations. The focus of this paper is to review this literature with a specific focus on contradictory and inconclusive results. Data for these studies are obtained from a number of sources such as self-administered surveys, patent office, the National Science Foundation and the Association of University Technology Managers. This paper reviews the literature and highlights the variety of conceptual frameworks, data, and methodology used. It has a specific focus on assessing impact over time as well the difficulty in generalizing the result obtained from one study to another context. In spite of these problems, the evidence from a broad range and increasing volume of literature on trends and characteristics of academic entrepreneurship and university-industry collaborations shows that universities indisputably play a major role in their regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper describes the proactive culture of support that has been effective in the regional development of a semi-rural area. Design/methodology/approach Information used in this paper came predominately from participative case studies accompanied with formal and informal discussions with principals, including members of associated economic development groups. Oral responses and observations were supported by plans, reports, pro-formas and financial statements that were available as the cases developed. Findings - Two streams of businesses contribute to development. One stream is the businesses started by local entrepreneurs. The other stream comes from individuals who relocate their businesses in particular semi-rural areas. A pro-active culture of support contributes to success in both streams. This culture is affected by the county's center for economic operations, which is described in the paper. Examples of firms from these streams are given along with services provided to them by entities in the county. Research limitations/implications Although, the procedure generally is accepted as providing adequate attention to validity, reliability, and triangulation concerns, one is always careful about accepting generality of case studies. Practical implications - The desirability of having firms locate in a specific area is a pervasive consideration in economic development. Results here indicate that location of industrial businesses in semi-rural areas comes from two streams that can be managed strategically by economic development professionals. Originality/value - The idea of a pass along approach to regional development is fundamental to the management of resources. It should be of particular value to professionals involved in these activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the role of the business size distribution on income and employment growth in U.S. counties from 1990 to 2000. We measure the business size distribution as the share of employees across nine establishment size categories that range from microfirms (one to four employees) to large firms (1,000+ employees) and using three indices similar to a Gini coefficient. Results show that the business size distribution has a significant impact on county-level growth patterns. Employment shares in small firms increase employment growth, but decrease income growth. One possible conclusion suggests policies emphasizing small firms and entrepreneurship during times of high unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than a century, white communities across the United States employed strategies to remain all-white, including violent acts, forcibly driving minorities out of town, and local ordinances. One particularly widespread and effective approach used by many towns to exclude certain groups of people from living in their towns was the creation of a ‘sundown town’. This paper seeks to examine the association between past sundown policies and one component of community life that many towns currently struggle with: economic development. By examining the racial histories and economic development activities of 428 towns in the Midwest and nontraditional South, the study examines whether historical legacy can carry over to the present and affect economic development. Findings suggest that former sundown towns currently pursue fewer economic development activities than towns that have a history of being inclusive, even after controlling for a community's assets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Karl Marx and Max Weber were the first to write about the link between culture and the economy. Although both hypothesized different directions of causality - Weber believed that culture influenced the economy, whilst Marx believed the opposite - they were in agreement that the topics were closely related. Economists have been slow to study the hypothesized linkages between culture and economic performance, especially using scientifically falsifiable methods. Some of this apprehension is due to the fact that economic studies largely rely upon mathematical modeling and statistical testing to investigate potential relationships. However, culture is difficult or, as some would argue, impossible to measure. Applying Hofstede's cultural dimensions to a state-level panel dataset spanning from 1998 to 2003, this project attempts empirically to measure the impact of these dimensions on entrepreneurial activity in the United States. The results are mixed - with two dimensions displaying coefficients with the opposite signs to those expected - thereby generating some interesting questions for future study. This is the first known paper to measure the impact of culture on regional entrepreneurial activity across the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]