Global Entrepreneurship Monitor : Data Collection Design and Implementation 1998-2003

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) programfocuses on entrepreneurship and the impact it has on a nation's economic growthand employment opportunities.The process through which GEM was created isdescribed, including details regarding data collection. For the GEM, entrepreneurs are defined "as adults in the process ofsetting up a business they will (partly) own and or currently owning andmanaging and operating young business" (p. 209).The initial effortsat gathering small collections of information then widened to include surveysof entire countries and resulted in the creation of the EntrepreneurialResearch Consortium (ERC) and the U.S. Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics(PSED).Although similar to PSED, the GEM project seeks data to determinethe prevalence of entrepreneurial activity at single points in time, ratherthan longitudinally. Detailed explanations are provided regarding the survey and interviewmethods, survey components, screening criteria, measures of entrepreneurialactivity, and issues of reliability regarding entrepreneurialactivity.The perspectives of national experts regarding the criteria forGEM inclusion are discussed. Considerations for future studies arepresented. (AKP)