Transcript Zoltan Acs
The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index Zoltan J. Acs George Mason University Laszlo Szerb University of Pecs Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index Launch Victoria and Albert Museum, London UK 1 March 2011 Shaping The Future “Making predictions is really hard, especially about the future.” Yogi Bera New York Yankees Stages over time In an age where human ingenuity powers growth, the question of the developing economies & their human capital becomes the largest economic and social opportunity in the history of the world Jedi Warrior – Killer App Purpose of GEDI GEDINDEX is a tool. The purpose of the GEDINDEX is to give the world a “tool to support sustainable growth, and increased standards of living by measuring the contextual nature of successful entrepreneurship. Support for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship policy appears to be gaining acceptance globally However, a real understanding of entrepreneurship & the successful implementation of policies that actually support and lead to the development of high impact firms is rare Why is true understanding of entrepreneurship and policy rare? Entrepreneurship is a complex phenomenon with individuals, societal norms, economic, political, and educational institutions interacting around the future (the unknown) Very difficult to understand (not to mention measure) What do we mean by entrepreneurship? High Impact Firms: •Microsoft •Lenovo •Infosys NOT: coffee shops, home based businesses, and selfemployed Some call them Gazelles, because they grow fast, employ people, growing partners/suppliers, & generally have deep impact on regional, national, or even Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index Created to capture the multidimensional nature of entrepreneurship Employs qualitative as well as quantitative measures Uses institutional and individual variables What the sub indexes can tell us Attitude measures society’s basic attitudes toward entrepreneurship through education and social stability. Activity measures what individuals are actually doing to improve the quality of human resources and technological efficiency. Aspiration measures how much of the entrepreneurial activity is being directed toward innovation, high-impact entrepreneurship, and globalization. More powerful collectively Attributes in the sub-indexes, are more powerful collectively than they are individually. This makes true entrepreneurship, the killer application for sustainable economic development More powerful collectively In an efficiency-driven economy (manufacturing) individuals need to be encouraged to be entrepreneurs and start businesses. In an innovation-driven economy (knowledgebased economy) some entrepreneurs need to create large and successful enterprise GEDI INDEX The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index GEDI is a collaboration between George Mason University, University of Pécs, and Imperial College Business School, London. The GEDI Index combines Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data with data on country-level institutional conditions to estimate a country’s Entrepreneurial Attitudes, Aspirations, and Activities. Combined, these three pillars define the entrepreneurial character of a nation. Each of the three pillars – Attitudes, Aspirations, and Activities – comprises several sub-pillars, such as Opportunity Perception, Cultural Support, Opportunity Start-Ups, Growth Aspirations and New Technology. For the GEDI method, see www.thegedi.org. www.thegedi.org Policy Conclusions and Tool Stages of development Simple measures do not work The index tracks well Institutions and people both important People become more important as we move from factor to efficiency to innovation. Back to the Future: the World in 2050 Surging, Shifting Populations Abundance of human capital Will we unleash the killer application: entrepreneurship? Can we use GEDIndex and others to focus investments, policies, and welcome 3 billion new global citizens to sustainable growth and improved standards of living