Entrepreneurship starting to recover, says OECD

Entrepreneurial activity is finally beginning to recover from the financial crisis, according to a new report from the OECD.

The latest edition of the OECD’s Entrepreneurship at a Glance shows that, while business start-up rates are still behind pre-crisis levels in several major economies, trends are now pointing upwards in most countries.

And in some OECD member countries—including Canada, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK—start-up rates are now higher than they were before the crisis.

Job creation is also looking more positive, with around half of small businesses in the G7 economies expecting to recruit new staff in the next six months.

The report also contains evidence that, since the crisis, small- and medium-size enterprises have been more important to economic recovery in Europe than in the US.

The report is based on data collected from a monthly survey of entrepreneurs, conducted via Facebook.

Martine Durand, OECD Chief Statistician, commented that: “No single indicator can adequately cover a topic as complex as entrepreneurship. It is by looking at a series of factors—from market conditions to the regulatory framework, enterprise culture and access to finance—that we are able to fully take the pulse on the state of entrepreneurial activity and make policy recommendations that will contribute to enhancing it.”

Ramana Nanda of Harvard Business School has written for IZA World of Labor about financing high-potential entrepreneurship. Noting that entrepreneurship is essential to both job creation and productivity, he argues that: “Predicting which firms will fail and which will succeed is nearly impossible. Instead of futilely trying to pick winners, governments can play a useful role in facilitating the growth of the most promising firms by setting the conditions for efficient trial-and-error experimentation across firms.”

Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2016 can be read online here.

Related articles:
Financing high-potential entrepreneurship by Ramana Nanda
Entrepreneurship and the business cycle by Roy Thurik
Entrepreneurs and their impact on jobs and economic growth by Alexander S. Kritikos
Immigrants and entrepreneurship by Magnus Lofstrom
Find more IZA World of Labor articles about entrepreneurship