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2. Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries
- Author:
- Wim Naudé, Adam Szirmai, and Micheline Goedhuys
- Publication Date:
- 01-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Nobody can be left in any doubt as to the importance of innovation for prosperity upon reading that “people living in the first decade of the twentieth century did not know modern dental and medical equipment, penicillin, bypass operations, safe births, control of genetically transmitted diseases, personal computers, compact discs, television sets, automobiles, opportunities for fast and cheap worldwide travel, affordable universities, central heating, air conditioning . . . technological change has transformed the quality of our lives.”
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and Markets
3. Promoting Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries: Policy Challenges
- Author:
- Wim Naudé
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This policy brief provides some fresh perspectives on the relationship between entrepreneurship and development, and considers policy design issues. It reports on the UNU-WIDER two-year research project “Promoting Entrepreneurial Capacity”, which aimed to understand whether and how entrepreneurship matters for development, how it could derail development, how entrepreneurs function in high growth as well as in conflict environments, and how female entrepreneurship differs across countries at various stages of development.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, and Third World
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, and Burundi
4. The Global Economic Crisis after One Year: Is a New Paradigm for Recovery in Developing Countries Emerging?
- Author:
- Wim Naudé
- Publication Date:
- 08-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- T HE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND RECESSION, WHICH spread across the globe following the US sub-prime mortgage crisis in September 2008, has become the dominant news topic of the past year. One year into the crisis it has become clear that the paradigm for international development has changed irrevocably. With leadership, moral authority and the capacity of the West diminishing, developing countries' recovery and future growth will critically depend on their own initiatives and solutions.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States
5. Entrepreneurship and Structural Economic Transformation
- Author:
- Thomas Gries and Wim Naudé
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- A stylized fact of economic development is the structural transformation of countries from traditional, mainly agricultural societies to modern economies dominated by manufacturing and services. In this paper we provide an endogenous growth model to illuminate the role of entrepreneurial start-up firms in structural economic transformation. We follow the Lewis-model's distinction between a traditional and modern sector, and underpin this with micro-foundations. We specify mature and start- up entrepreneurs and make a distinction between survivalist self-employment activities in the traditional sector, and opportunity-driven entrepreneurship in the modern sector. The model shows how opportunity-driven entrepreneurship can drive structural transformation through innovation, provision of intermediate inputs and services (which permits greater specialization in manufacturing), and by increasing employment and productivity in both the modern and traditional sectors.
- Topic:
- Development and Economics
6. Entrepreneurship in Economic Development
- Author:
- Wim Naudé
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- What is the role of entrepreneurship in economic development? At a minimum the answer should be able to explain the role of entrepreneurs in the structural transformation of countries from low income, primary-sector based societies into high-income service and technology based societies. More broadly though, it should also be able to explain the role of entrepreneurs in the opposite pole of stagnating development (including conflict) and in high innovation-driven growth. Although economic development lacks a 'general theory' of entrepreneurship, which could encompass a variety of development experiences, much progress has been made in extending the understanding of entrepreneurship in the process of development. This paper surveys the progress with the purpose of distilling the outlines for a more general theory of entrepreneurship in economic development. Entrepreneurship in developing countries remains a relatively under-researched phenomenon, so by surveying the current state of research, and by discussing the role of entrepreneurship in dual economy models of structural transformation and growth, a secondary objective of this paper is to identify avenues for further research. Finally, the policy implications from the economic literature suggest that a case for government support exists, and that this should focus on the quantity, the quality, and the allocation of entrepreneurial ability. Many routinely adopted policies for entrepreneurship, such as provision of credit and education, are shown to have more subtle effects, not all of which are conducive to growth-enhancing entrepreneurship.
- Topic:
- Development and Economics
7. Measuring the Vulnerability of Subnational Regions
- Author:
- Mark McGillivray, Wim Naudé, and Stephanié Rossouw
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- A small but growing literature has been concerned about the economic (and environmental) vulnerability on the level of countries. Less attention is paid to the economic vulnerability of different regions within countries. By focusing on the vulnerability of subnational regions, our paper contributes to the small literature on the 'vulnerability of place'. We see the vulnerability of place as being due to vulnerability in various domains, such as economic vulnerability, vulnerability of environment, and governance, demographic and health fragilities. We use a subnational dataset on 354 magisterial districts from South Africa, recognize the potential relevance of measuring vulnerability on a subnational level, and construct a local vulnerability index (LVI) for the various districts. We condition this index on district per capita income and term this a vulnerability intervention index (VII) interpreting this as an indicator of where higher income per capita, often seen in the literature as a measure of resilience, will in itself be unlikely to reduce vulnerability.
- Topic:
- Security, Demographics, Development, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
8. The Significance of Transport Costs in Africa
- Author:
- Wim Naudé and Marianne Matthee
- Publication Date:
- 08-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The success of Africa's exports, as well as its spatial development, depends on lowering transport costs. In this Policy Brief, we address a number of pertinent questions on transport costs in Africa, such as 'what are transport costs?', 'do transport costs matter for trade?', 'how important are transport costs in practice?', and 'why are Africa's transport costs so high?' We present a case study of the firm location decisions of exporters in South Africa to illustrate the significance in particular of domestic transport costs for manufactured exports. The message from this Policy Brief is that Africa's international transport costs are significantly higher than that of other regions, and its domestic transport costs could be just as significant. Moreover we show how domestic transport costs influence the location, the quantity, and the diversity of manufactured exports. Various policy options to reduce transport costs in Africa are discussed.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Africa