This groundbreaking collection of essays by leading economists examines different aspects of entrepreneurship and its relation to public policy. Entrepreneurship has been a subject of much recent discussion among academics and policymakers because of the belief that it invigorates the economy—producing greater productivity, more jobs, and higher economic growth. President George W. Bush promoted his economic plan by pointing to its encouragement of entrepreneurship. Yet, despite its importance, the topic of entrepreneurship is underrepresented in the economics literature. The contributors to Public Policy and the Economics of Entrepreneurship examine different aspects of entrepreneurship and its relation to public policy to help us reach a better understanding of the economic role of entrepreneurs. The contributors, all prominent economists, first consider what policies effectively encourage entrepreneurship, discussing a possible role for government in venture capital markets, the effect of the tax code's subsidy of health insurance for the self-employed, and the impact of banking deregulation on entrepreneurial activity. Two contributors then examine entrepreneurship in "unexpected places"—not small businesses, but large pharmaceutical firms and nonprofit organizations. The final essays explore the effect of entrepreneurship on inequality, looking at statistical evidence of upward mobility for self-employed blacks and Hispanics and discussing the effect on entrepreneurial activity of policies to reduce wealth inequality. The contributors hope, by offering a rigorous economic examination of entrepreneurship, to foster better public policies that encourage and support entrepreneurial activity.

Experts in public economics and financial economics discuss the special role of venture capital and if public policy should promote the venture capital industry; empirical and theoretical perspectives are developed. The existing literature in both public economics and financial economics often fails to consider how appropriate and effective public policy may be in promoting the venture capital industry. Public economics has dealt extensively with the effect of taxes and subsidies but has neglected the unique role of venture capitalists as active investors who provide not only funding but added value. Financial economics has emphasized the special role of the venture capitalist but has not focused on the real effects of venture capital in industry equilibrium or the role of public policy. This volume in the CESifo Seminar series brings together experts in public and financial economics to develop a theoretically and empirically informed international policy perspective for an era in which policymakers increasingly look to venture capital as a source of jobs, innovation, and economic growth. The chapters in part I analyze data on the levels of venture capital fundraising in Europe, problems in the bank-oriented beginnings of German venture capital finance in the 1970s, and the inefficiency of Canadian labor-sponsored venture capital funds. Part II looks at the effect of venture capital on labor market performance, the importance of exit opportunities, and the effect of information inflows on the venture capital cycle. The chapters in part III take the perspective of public economics, reviewing the role of public policy in addressing potential market failures, improving the quality of venture capital investments, and affecting entrepreneurial business activity through tax policy.

While the public policy community has turned to entrepreneurship to maintain, restore, or generate economic prosperity, the economics profession has been remarkably taciturn in providing guidance for public policy for understanding the links between entrepreneurship and economic growth as well as for framing and weighing policy issues and decisions. The purpose of this volume is to provide a lens through which public policy decisions involving entrepreneurship can be guided and analyzed. In particular, this volume provides insights from leading research concerning the links between entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth that shed light on implications for public policy. The book makes clear both how and why small firms and entrepreneurship have emerged as crucial to economic growth, employment, and competitiveness as well as the mandate for public policy in the entrepreneurial society.

"Innovation and entrepreneurship are ubiquitous today, both as fields of study and as starting points for conversations among experts in government and economic development. But while these areas on continue to attract public and private investments, many measurements of their resulting economic growth-including productivity growth and business dynamism-have remained modest. Why this difference? Because not all business sectors are the same, and the transformative gains of some industries have been offset by stagnation or contraction in others. Accordingly, a nuanced understanding of the economy requires a nuanced understanding of where innovation and entrepreneurship occur and where they matter. Answering these questions allows for strategic public investment and the infrastructure for economic growth.The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth, the latest entry in the NBER conference series, seeks to codify these answers. The editors leverage industry studies to identify specific examples of productivity improvements enabled by innovation and entrepreneurship, including those from new production technologies, increased competition, new organizational forms, and other means. Taken together, the volume illuminates whether the contribution of innovation and entrepreneurship to economic growth is likely to be concentrated, be it selected sectors or more broadly"--

A calculation of the social returns to innovation /Benjamin F. Jones and Lawrence H. Summers --Innovation and human capital policy /John Van Reenen --Immigration policy levers for US innovation and start-ups /Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr --Scientific grant funding /Pierre Azoulay and Danielle Li --Tax policy for innovation /Bronwyn H. Hall --Taxation and innovation: what do we know? /Ufuk Akcigit and Stefanie Stantcheva --Government incentives for entrepreneurship /Josh Lerner.

By serving as a conduit for knowledge spillovers, entrepreneurship is the missing link between investments in new knowledge and economic growth. The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship provides not just an explanation of why entrepreneurship has become more prevalent as the factor of knowledge has emerged as a crucial source for comparative advantage, but also why entrepreneurship plays a vital role in generating economic growth. Entrepreneurship is an important mechanism permeating the knowledge filter to facilitate the spill over of knowledge and ultimately generate economic growth.

Providing a clear summary of the institutions and entrepreneurship research this comprehensive and timely book will be of great interest to anyone involved in public policy. It also offers a practical application for academic research and a rich biblio