Due to their origin from universities, academic spin-offs operate at the forefront of the technological development. Therefore, spin-offs exhibit a skill-biased labour demand, i.e. spin-offs have a high demand for employees with cutting edge knowledge and technical skills that distinguish them...

This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the potential impacts of the Lei do Empreendedor Individual (Individual Entrepreneur Law). We intend to present evidence that helps clarify, albeit only partially, whether the policy was successful in promoting: i) micro-entrepreneurship in Brazil;...

This paper exploits a liquidity shock from a large-scale welfare programme in Brazil to investigate the importance of credit constraints and informal financial assistance in explaining entrepreneurship. Previous research focuses exclusively on how liquidity shocks change recipients' behaviour...

Theoretical and empirical studies of industry dynamics have extensively focused on the process of growth. Theory predicts that production efficiency, profitability and financial status are central channels through which some firms can survive, grow and eventually achieve outstanding growth...

This paper investigates, both theoretically and empirically, the implications that complementary assets needed for the formation of start-ups - proxied by the ease of access to financial resources - have on the innovative efforts of incumbent firms. In particular, we develop a theoretical model,...

This project aims to assist SMEs in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine by providing support to stakeholders in their efforts to develop analytical and policy advocacy capabilities and by opening new channels of communication between SMEs and NGOs in the Visegrad Four countries (Czech Republic,...

Studies for established market economies such as West Germany (Fritsch and Mueller, 2007), and Sweden (Andersson and Koster, 2011) have shown that regional start-up rates tend to show a relatively high level of persistence and path dependency over periods of 10-15 years. One main reason for this...

Start-up activities are considered to be important for regional economic development which varies considerably between regions. As new firm formation and growth is strongly influenced by regional conditions, we analyse the role of regional conditions and their impact on start-up activities. In...

Nowadays, policy makers in charge of designing innovation policies, especially at the regional level, are more and more adopting the cluster approach either with a view to accelerate the existing clusters or for providing the basis for the emergence of new ones. In fact, not only as a...

The location of new establishments is a major issue from the perspective of economic activity and the analysis of the territory. Although both its determinants and consequences are multiple and complex, most studies are focused on single factors or aggregate approaches. This paper presents an...