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Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

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  • Acs, Zoltan
  • Virgill, Nicola

Abstract

This study offers that entrepreneurship is consistent with and even complementary to the older and more traditional development strategies. We survey the literature on entrepreneurship in developing countries which, admittedly, is wide and covers a range of issues from culture and values; institutional barriers such as financial sector development, governance, and property rights; and to the adequacy of education and technical skills. A broad literature has also developed on foreign direct investment and its positive and negative effects on technology transfer and entrepreneurship. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a number of studies examined the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises in transition economies. As these economies moved from centralized economies to market economies, enterprise and entrepreneurship became important. Yet, other studies examine the effects of infrastructural development and the macroeconomy on entrepreneurship. With such a wide scope of issues, a framework for synthesizing the literature is needed. This study offers that the identification of the externalities which affect entrepreneurship provides a useful framework to examine the literature on entrepreneurship in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Acs, Zoltan & Virgill, Nicola, 2010. "Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 6(1), pages 1-68, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:now:fntent:0300000031
    DOI: 10.1561/0300000031
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Development economics; Entrepreneurship; Import substitution; Export promotion; Entrepreneurship; Development economics; Technology transfer; Foreign direct investment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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