Search

Entrepreneurs are at the core of economic development in that they start new businesses or make existing firms grow. To fulfill this important role, entrepreneurs need access to finance. Owing to information asymmetry and the relatively high risk associated with business start-ups, many financiers shy away from engaging in relationships with firms during the early stages of their development. Based on the existing body of knowledge on the financing of entrepreneurship, we know that insider finance is of paramount importance in the early stages of firms’ development. We expand this knowledge base by analyzing the influence of house prices on business start-ups across municipalities in Sweden. In our analysis, we include data from all municipalities in Sweden. Our data on house prices and control variables are collected in period one, and our data on the frequency of start-ups are collected in period two. We find that rising house prices in a municipality lead to a higher frequency of start-ups. In our regression analysis, we find that a 1% increase in house prices leads to a 0.14% increase in start-ups. Our findings are in line with the limited international research that has been previously conducted, and for this reason, they could be seen as a vital addition to the existing body of knowledge within the area of entrepreneurship and regional development.

Entrepreneurs are at the core of economic development in that they start new businesses or make existing firms grow. To fulfill this important role, entrepreneurs need access to financing. Owing to information asymmetry and the relatively high risk associated with business startups, many financiers shy away from engaging in relationships with firms during the early stages of their development. Based on the existing body of knowledge on the financing of entrepreneurship, we know that insider finance is of paramount importance in the early stages of firms’ development. We expand this knowledge base by analyzing the influence of house prices on business startups across municipalities in Sweden. In our analysis, we include data from all municipalities in Sweden. Our data on house prices and control variables are collected in period one, and our data on the frequency of startups are collected in period two. We find that rising house prices in a municipality lead to a higher frequency of startups. In our spatial Durbin model, we find that a 1% increase in house prices leads to around 0.15% increase in startups. Our findings are in line with the limited international research that has been previously conducted, and therefore, our study might make a small but vital addition to this growing body of knowledge within the area of entrepreneurship and regional development., QC 20180411

The financing of entrepreneurial ventures has been at the forefront of academic debate as well as policy-making discussion for almost a century. In general, there seems to be an agreement that the risks associated with business startups are higher than for mature firms, hence, these ventures will have to pay a higher interest rate than more mature and large firms. In this paper the authors analyze the role of a relatively new form of financing for entrepreneurial ventures - crowdfunding - And how this form of financing is similar and different from traditional sources of finance. The authors are also presenting different forms and models of crowdfunding available on the market together with illustrations from the crowdfunding industry in Sweden. The analysis indicates that the positive effects with crowdfunding are numerous but that the size of the crowdfunding sector is relatively small in comparison with the banking and venture capital industry., QC 20161121

The Swedish higher educational system is under pressure. The competition from international universities is getting fiercer, and the demographical projections indicate that the number of students entering the university system is peaking right now. At the same time, the financial support from the government is decreasing. In order to stay competitive Swedish universities are trying to find strategies for using the scarce resources in the optimal way. The problem is to strike a balance between quality and efficiency.Over the past ten years a lot of improvement has been made within the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) regarding quality and innovation in education. Pedagogical courses are mandatory for the staff, and the merits of educational experience have been emphasized in hiring new staff members. Even though problem-based learning, constructive alignment and peer instruction are common in most courses today, some other aspects of education and learning remains the same. One such conservative trait has to do with written examinations. Since the founding of the university in 1827, all written examinations have been done using paper and pen at the Royal Institute of Technology. It is interesting to note that even the school of computer science is using paper and pen for their final written examinations. The problems with using paper and pen are numerous and includes; problems with reading and grading because of poor handwriting, distribution of exams between teachers in the same course, written exams getting lost, etc. In comparison with other parts of the educational system, little has happened to improve quality and efficiency when it comes to written examinations.During 2013 and 2014 a number of teachers initiated a project for increasing the efficiency in written exams. There was a general understanding that the final part of the courses consumed too much time and effort in relations to the other parts. Hence, new software for digital examinations was identif, QC 20160119

NV 20160119

QC 20160128