On the Road to an Entrepreneurial Economy : A Research and Policy Guide

Among the factors contributing to the success of the U.S. economy over the past decade as reflected in the doubling of productivity growth compared to the preceding two decades is the continued transformation of the U.S. economy toward a more entrepreneurial form of capitalism. In such a system, innovative new firms play an unusually central role in developing and commercializing the radical technologies that provide the underpinnings to whole new ways of doing things and enjoying life. In the last century, innovations which have changed the social and economic landscape in the United States and in much of the rest of the world, such as the automobile, airplane, air conditioner, the personal computer and its operating system, and, most recently, many of the leading Internet-based business models, all were commercialized by entrepreneurs. How best can this outcome be assured? For over a decade, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has been supporting basic research into this and related questions surrounding entrepreneurship. The officers and staff of the Kauffman Foundation are in constant touch with all elements of the entrepreneurial community