Edited by Martin Carree, Professor of Industrial Organisation, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands and A. Roy Thurik, Professor of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Scientific Advisor of EIM Business and Policy Research (a member of Panteia), Zoetermeer, The Netherlands

'Why economies grow, for centuries, has been one of the most important questions in economics. The importance of this question is found in the simple fact that the purchasing power of the average individual has increased ten fold in just one hundred years. How do we explain this? Over the past decade there has been a revival of interest in this question after a period of inactivity. In particular, what has been of interest is what role individual entrepreneurs play in innovation, the key to economic growth. Written by leading scholars, mostly during the technological revolution of the 1990s, this volume provides a valuable collection of readings that explore the role of the entrepreneurship in economic growth. The articles are carefully chosen in five areas that advance our understanding of entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth.'

• Contents:AcknowledgementsUnderstanding the Role of Entrepreneurship for Economic Growth Martin Carree and A. Roy ThurikPART IGENERAL OVERVIEW 1. Sander Wennekers and Roy Thurik (1999), ‘Linking Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth’2. David Audretsch and Roy Thurik (2004), ‘A Model of the Entrepreneurial Economy’3. Joseph A. Schumpeter ([1934] 1961), ‘The Fundamental Phenomenon of Economic Development’PART IIHISTORY AND COUNTRIES 4. William J. Baumol (1990), ‘Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive, and Destructive’5. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt and Naushad Forbes (1984), ‘Technical Entrepreneurship: An International Perspective’6. John McMillan and Christopher Woodruff (2002), ‘The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies’7. Tony Fu-Lai Yu (1998), ‘Adaptive Entrepreneurship and the Economic Development of Hong Kong’PART IIIINNOVATION 8. Wesley M. Cohen and Steven Klepper (1992), ‘The Tradeoff Between Firm Size and Diversity in the Pursuit of Technological Progress’9. Sharon Gifford (1998), ‘Limited Entrepreneurial Attention and Economic Development’10. Thomas J. Prusa and James A. Schmitz, Jr. (1991), ‘Are New Firms an Important Source of Innovation? Evidence from the PC Software Industry’PART IVGROWTH MODELS 11. James A. Schmitz, Jr. (1989), ‘Imitation, Entrepreneurship, and Long-Run Growth’12. Peter Howitt and Philippe Aghion (1998), ‘Capital Accumulation and Innovation as Complementary Factors in Long-Run Growth’13. Claudio Michelacci (2003), ‘Low Returns in R&D Due to the Lack of Entrepreneurial Skills’14. Murat F. Iyigun and Ann L. Owen (1999), ‘Entrepreneurs, Professionals, and Growth’15. Huw Lloyd-Ellis and Dan Bernhardt (2000), ‘Enterprise, Inequality and Economic Development’16. Pietro F. Peretto (1998), ‘Technological Change, Market Rivalry, and the Evolution of the Capitalist Engine of Growth’PART VCOMPETITION 17. Stephen J. Nickell (1996), ‘Competition and Corporate Performance’18. Michael Gort and Nakil Sung (1999), ‘Competition and Productivity Growth: The Case of the U.S. Telephone Industry’PART VIEMPIRICAL CONTRIBUTIONS 19. Martin Carree, André van Stel, Roy Thurik and Sander Wennekers (2002), ‘Economic Development and Business Ownership: An Analysis Using Data of 23 OECD Countries in the Period 1976–1996’20. Zoltan J. Acs and Catherine Armington (2004), ‘Employment Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity in Cities’21. Stefan Fölster (2000), ‘Do Entrepreneurs Create Jobs?’22. David B. Audretsch and Max Keilbach (2004), ‘Entrepreneurship Capital and Economic Performance’Name Index