Entrepreneurship And Economic Progress Essay Example

Entrepreneurship is one of the least understood and most effective factors of economic progress universally. Why is it the least understood? Because it stems from the depths of human nature itself: inspiration, challenge, change and many such abstract characteristics that cannot be explained through strictly scientific approaches. ‘Change’ as a factor in the phenomenon of entrepreneurship could not see a better example than America, which, ever since it came into being attracted immigrants from all over the world and the crowd that stands out in these immigrant groups have always been of the entrepreneurial variety looking for better opportunities. Historical evidence suggests, in America, the members of such groups rise above their ethnic complexities and enjoy more intergenerational mobility in educational and occupational fields (Portes & Jensen 1989; Portes & Zhou 1992, 1996).
What started in the early 1980’s as the “entrepreneurship era” (Kuratko, 2000), exploded into a game-changing phenomenon during the short-lived recession of the ‘90s. And of course history repeated itself during the 2006-2009 recession period, this time, taking entrepreneurship to its well-deserved global heights, making it not just an option, but a necessity in today’s economic scene. According to the Global Economic Monitor (GEM), the entrepreneurial activities in America were in a state of constant evolution since 2001 through 2009. Interestingly, or rather unfortunately, during the period of recession, it just so happened that necessity-driven entrepreneurship rose sharply in 2006 but eventually declined by 2009 due to the fear of failure that took over (GEM, 2009).
While the link between economic progress and entrepreneurship is undeniable even to the most prudent soul, there is simply not enough that is being done in mainstream economics to understand entrepreneurship or progress in a way that helps global economies. As Holcombe (2007) rightly puts it, income growth should neither be the most important element, nor the focal point of gauging economic progress.