Michael Fritsch (p)

Entrepreneurship can be an important source of economic prosperity and well-being. As a consequence, entrepreneurial activity may represent a key target of a policy aimed at promoting economic growth. The pronounced differences in the level and type of entrepreneurial activity between regions clearly suggest that the main underlying determinants and levers for fostering entrepreneurial activity can be found at the regional level. Furthermore, region-specific conditions may be responsible for differences in the effect of entrepreneurial activity on regional development. The lecture provides an overview of the recent research on the long-term persistence and change in regional entrepreneurship, i.e., self-employment and new business formation. One of the key results of this research is that regional entrepreneurial activity may have important historical roots. Such historical roots can lead, in particular, to a pronounced tendency of regional entrepreneurship to be rather persistent and to change only slowly and over a long period of time. Alternative explanations of these patterns are discussed. A main focus is on the implications for theory development and for regional-level policy. Finally, main open questions and promising avenues of further research in this important new field are identified.