Zoltan J. Acs – författare

In recent years there has been increased focus on understanding the dynamic relationships among entrepreneurship, policymaking and economic growth. At the heart of research, debate and practical application is the question: “Under what conditions can entrepreneurship flourish?” And the corollary: “To what degree does encouraging entrepreneurship result in economic growth?” A popular response is to argue for “entrepreneurship policy”—that is, targeted policies that are designed to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and small business creation. To the editors and contributors of this volume, that approach is fundamentally flawed. They argue that there is no such thing as a discrete entrepreneurship policy; instead, there is only policymaking in the context of an entrepreneurial economy. The book addresses policies operating at the individual, national, regional, and international levels, and offers a unique perspective on several institutional structures that enhance entrepreneurship and economic growth.

Interest in and attention to entrepreneurship has exploded in recent years. Nevertheless, much of the research and scholarship in entrepreneurship has remained elusive to academics, policymakers and other researchers, in large part because the field is informed by a broad spectrum of disciplines, including management, finance, economics, policy, sociology, and psychology, often pursued in isolation from each other. Since its original publication in 2003, the Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research has served as the definitive resource in the field, bringing together contributions from leading scholars in these disciplines to present a holistic, multi-dimensional approach. This new edition, fully revised and updated, and including several new chapters, covers all of the primary topics in entrepreneurship, including entrepreneurial behavior, risk and opportunity recognition, equity financing, business culture and strategy, innovation, and the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth and development. Featuring an integrative introduction, extensive literature reviews and reference lists, the Handbook will continue to serve as a roadmap to the rapidly evolving and dynamic field of entrepreneurship.

To this end, the contributors present a multidisciplinary portrait of this complex problem. They explore the rising trend in obesity of the US in terms of its significant economic and social consequences. The web of underlying causes of the ''infrastructure of obesity'', they explain, lies with public policy decisions, economic factors and profit opportunities as well as the more obvious nutrition and health choices of individuals. Prevention and treatment of this now global pandemic are then tackled from the perspectives of businesses, governments, society and the individual. The taxation, marketing, cultural, ethical and institutional dimensions of obesity are also addressed.

Obesity, Business and Public Policy is unique in its broad social science approach, exploring the obesity epidemic from economic, business, legal, social and public policy perspectives. As such, this truly multidisciplinary study will make fascinating reading for academics and professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds including: business, economics, public and social policy, medicine and nutrition.