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The Effect of Regional Entrepreneurship Culture on Economic Development - Evidence for Germany

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  • Michael Fritsch
  • Michael Wyrwich

Abstract

We use the historical self-employment rate as an indicator of a regional culture of entrepreneurship and link this measure to economic growth in recent periods. The results indicate that German regions with a high level of entrepreneurship in the mid-1920s have higher start-up rates about 80 years later. Furthermore, we find that the effect of current start-up activity on regional employment is significantly higher in regions with a pronounced entrepreneurial culture. We conclude that a regional culture of entrepreneurship is an important resource for regional growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2014. "The Effect of Regional Entrepreneurship Culture on Economic Development - Evidence for Germany," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1411, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Apr 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:1411
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    Cited by:

    1. Gloria Leonor Ortiz Morales & Juan Carlos Ramos Aguilar & Katherin Yineth Lozada Morales, 2022. "Culture as an obstacle for entrepreneurship," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. K. Bruns & N. Bosma & M. Sanders & M. Schramm, 2017. "Searching for the existence of entrepreneurial ecosystems: a regional cross-section growth regression approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 31-54, June.
    3. Bijedić, Teita & Butkowski, Olivier K. & Kay, Rosemarie & Suprinovič, Olga, 2020. "Bestimmungsfaktoren des regionalen Gründungsgeschehens - eine Machbarkeitsstudie," IfM-Materialien 280, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    4. Martin Mabunda Baluku & Edward Bantu & Kathleen Otto, 2018. "Effect of Locus of Control on Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Self-Employment Intentions: The Moderating Role of Individualism," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 26(03), pages 251-283, September.
    5. Michael Fritsch & Sandra Kublina, 2015. "Entrepreneurship,Growth, Regional Growth Regimes," Jena Economics Research Papers 2015-002, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    6. Kadri Arrak & Anneli Kaasa & Urmas Varblane, 2020. "Regional Cultural Context as a Determinant of Entrepreneurial Behaviour: The Case of Germany," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 29(1), pages 88-118, March.
    7. Balázs Páger, 2014. "The entrepreneurial performance of the Central and Eastern European regions," ERSA conference papers ersa14p1631, European Regional Science Association.
    8. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2016. "Does persistence in start-up activity reflect persistence in social capital?," Chapters, in: Hans Westlund & Johan P. Larsson (ed.), Handbook of Social Capital and Regional Development, chapter 4, pages 82-107, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Martin Obschonka & Michael Stuetzer & Samuel D Gosling & Peter J Rentfrow & Michael E Lamb & Jeff Potter & David B Audretsch, 2015. "Entrepreneurial Regions: Do Macro-Psychological Cultural Characteristics of Regions Help Solve the “Knowledge Paradox” of Economics?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, June.
    10. Xiaoyan Huang & Yuli Chen, 2021. "The Impact of Entrepreneurship on Economic Growth within a City," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 1(3), pages 1-9, October.
    11. Holz, Michael & Levering, Britta & May-Strobl, Eva & Kasdorf, Alina, 2017. "Neue Ansätze für die Mittelstandspolitik: Impulse von internationalen Good-Practice-Beispielen," IfM-Materialien 262, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    12. Barinova, Vera (Баринова, Вера) & Zemtsov, Stepan (Земцов, Степан) & Tsareva, Yulia (Царева, Юлия), 2018. "Review of Empirical Studies of Factors of Entrepreneurial Activity [Обзор Эмпирических Исследований Факторов Предпринимательской Активности]," Working Papers 031830, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    13. Obschonka, Martin & Stuetzer, Michael & Gosling, Samuel D. & Rentfrow, Peter J. & Lamb, Michael E. & Potter, Jeff & Audretsch, David B., 2015. "Entrepreneurial Regions: Do Macro-psychological Cultural Characteristics of Regions help solve the “Knowledge Paradox” of Economics?," MPRA Paper 65323, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Kathrin Bischoff, 2021. "A study on the perceived strength of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems on the dimensions of stakeholder theory and culture," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1121-1140, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; economic development; self-employment; new business formation; entrepreneurship culture; institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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