Entrepreneurship Boosting Policies in Europe: The European South Case

Τhere is growing awareness concerning the crucial role of entrepreneurship in the process of socio-economic development. Developed countries address the issue of fostering entrepreneurship in a variety of ways. This study aims to find out in preliminary terms whether there are converging or diverging entrepreneurial policies for different European countries. We examine four different European economies of the European South (Portugal, Italy, Croatia, and Greece) and their approaches to facilitating entrepreneurship. Using data provided by the World Bank as the primary source, we identify the entrepreneurial measures each country has taken from the beginning of the global crisis (2008) until very recently (2018) and classify them according to their economic level of action – “macro-meso-micro.” The results of the study reveal policy mixes on behalf of all four countries, acting on both the micro and the macro-level; the meso-level seems neglected. These policy mixes include, among others, reforms aiming at the reduction of bureaucracy as well as efficient ways for contract enforcement and business start-up through digitisation. It also becomes apparent that regardless of the country, the most frequent reforms favouring entrepreneurship are those that act in more than one levels. In conclusion, it seems that the countries lagging in entrepreneurship policies in absolute terms should follow the example of those that keep reforming on many areas and levels. Moreover, although there are signs of convergence among the different national approaches to entrepreneurship policies, fostering entrepreneurship in Europe takes various forms.