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The Republic of Entrepreneurs: Letters, Science, and the Civic Mechanics of Modern Prosperity

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  • Heng-fu Zou

    (Institute for Advanced Study, Wuhan University
    World Bank)

Abstract

This paper advances the idea of a republic of entrepreneurs - a spontaneous, rule-governed order in which many people repeatedly propose, test, and diffuse improvements-and argues that it is the main engine of modern prosperity. We braid this republic with the republic of letters and the republic of science, contending that open discourse, self-governed inquiry, and contestable enterprise reinforce one another to convert useful knowledge into useful industry. The analytical backbone in- tegrates Cantillon's functional entrepreneur, Mises's economic calculation and residual claimancy, Hayek's discovery procedure and dispersed knowl edge, Kirzner's alertness and equilibration, Mokyr's Industrial Enlightenment and "market for ideas," McCloskey's rhetoric of bourgeois dignity, and Phelps's grassroots dynamism. Historical cases-Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and biomedicine show that breakthrough eras depended less on elite R&D and more on dense portfolios of small, decentralized experiments under general rules that kept feedback honest and im itation lawful. We contrast this republican view with outcome-targeting elite-centric growth models, derive testable implications (proposal den- sity, feedback speed, diffusion breadth), and sketch a policy stance that privileges general over discretionary rules, interoperability and open stan dards, reputation systems that make quality legible, and intellectual property that teaches while remaining finite. Reframing innovation as a civic practice explains both the magnitude and inclusiveness of the Great Enrichment and recommends "republic of entrepreneurs" as a term of art for growth and development economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Heng-fu Zou, 2025. "The Republic of Entrepreneurs: Letters, Science, and the Civic Mechanics of Modern Prosperity," CEMA Working Papers 798, China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:cuf:wpaper:798
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Aghion & Céline Antonin & Bunel Simon, 2021. "The Power of Creative Destruction," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) halshs-03672082, HAL.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative

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