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Sameeksha Desai

Indiana University, USA

I’m excited to share some of the current research about measurement challenges related to entrepreneurship, as it is such an important undertaking for individuals, and can be a key part of the competitiveness of economies. IZA World of Labor is a great outlet to connect research, policy and practice!

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Associate Professor Indiana University Bloomington; Associate Director, Institute for Development Strategies, Indiana University Bloomington; Co-Chair, Transatlantic Policy Consortium

Research interest

Entrepreneurship and regulation, entrepreneurship and political instability (terrorism, conflict), entrepreneurship and migration

Website

http://bit.ly/Desai_Indiana

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Consultant, World Bank (2016); Project Director, Youth Initiatives, Global Entrepreneurship Development Institute (2016-present); Affiliate Researcher, Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum (2014–present); Visiting Scholar, Kauffman Foundation (2009–2012); Associate Fellow, Ratio Institute (2010–2013); Consultant, UNU-WIDER (2009)

Past positions

Assistant Professor, University of Missouri, 2008–2010; Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute of Economics, 2007–2008

Qualifications

PhD Public Policy, George Mason University, 2008

Selected publications

  • “Institutional drivers of high-growth firms: Country-level evidence from 26 transition economies.” Small Business Economics 47:4 (2016): 1075–1094 (with B. A. Krasniqi).

  • “Taxes, corruption, and entry.” Small Business Economics: 47:1 (2016): 201–216 (with M. Belitski and F. Chowdhury).

  • “What drives ICT clustering in European cities?” Journal of Technology Transfer 41:3 (2016): 430–450 (with M. Belitski).

  • “Ownership and allocation of capital: Evidence from 44 countries.” Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 170:3 (2014): 427–452 (with J. Eklund).

  • “A model of destructive entrepreneurship: Implications for conflict and postconflict recovery.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 57:1 (2013): 20–40 (with Z. Acs and U. Weitzel).

article(s)

  • Measuring entrepreneurship: Type, motivation, and growth

    Effective measurement can help policymakers harness a wide variety of gains from entrepreneurship

    Sameeksha Desai, January 2017
    Policymakers rely on entrepreneurs to create jobs, provide incomes, innovate, pay taxes to support public revenues, create competition in industries, and much more. Due to its highly heterogeneous nature, the choice of entrepreneurship measures is critically important, impacting the diagnosis, analysis, projection, and understanding of potential and existing policy. Some key aspects to measure include the how (self-employment, new firm formation), why (necessity, opportunity), and what (growth). As such, gaining better insight into the challenges of measuring entrepreneurship is a necessary and productive investment for policymakers.
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