Description: What Does "Entrepreneurship" Data Really Show? A Comparison of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and World Bank Group Datasets

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What Does "Entrepreneurship" Data Really Show? A Comparison of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and World Bank Group Datasets

This paper compares two datasets designed to measure entrepreneurship. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor dataset captures early-stage entrepreneurial activity; the World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey dataset captures formal business...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Acs, Zoltan J., Desai, Sameeksha, Klapper, Leora F.
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERS ARRANGEMENT BANK FINANCING BANKRUPTCY BANKRUPTCY PROCEDURES BARRIERS TO ENTRY BENCHMARK BUSINESS ACTIVITIES BUSINESS ENTRY BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS BUSINESS FORMATION BUSINESS OWNERS BUSINESS PURPOSES BUSINESS REGISTRATION BUSINESS REGISTRATIONS BUSINESS REGULATIONS BUSINESSES CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE COMPANY CORPORATION CORPORATIONS CORRELATION MATRIX CORRUPTION CREDITORS CURRENT ACCOUNT DEBT DEBT OBLIGATIONS DESCRIPTION ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC SYSTEMS EMPLOYER EMPLOYMENT ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY ENTREPRENEURIAL POTENTIAL ENTREPRENEURS ENTREPRENEURSHIP ENTRY BARRIERS EXCLUSION FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL RISK FINANCIAL RISKS FINANCIAL_RISK FIRMS FORMAL BANK FORMAL ECONOMY GREATER ACCESS HUMAN CAPITAL INDIVIDUAL ENTREPRENEURS INFLATION INFORMAL ECONOMY INNOVATION INTERNATIONAL BANK INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS LAWS LEGAL SYSTEM LEGAL SYSTEMS MANUFACTURING NEW BUSINESS NEW BUSINESSES OPERATIONAL RISK PERSONAL SAVINGS PHONE PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROPRIETORSHIP PUBLIC POLICY REAL ESTATE REGISTRIES REGISTRY REGULATORY BURDEN REGULATORY BURDENS REGULATORY REFORMS RESULTS RETAIL TRADE SELF- EMPLOYMENT SELF-EMPLOYMENT SMALL BUSINESS START-UP START-UP CAPITAL START-UPS TAXATION UNEMPLOYMENT VENDORS WEB
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/07/9670280/entrepreneurship-data-really-show-comparison-global-entrepreneurship-monitor-world-bank-group-datasets-entrepreneurship-data-really-show-comparison-global-entrepreneurship-monitor-world-bank-group-datasets http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6844

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Summary:	This paper compares two datasets designed to measure entrepreneurship. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor dataset captures early-stage entrepreneurial activity; the World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey dataset captures formal business registration. There are a number of important differences when the data are compared. First, GEM data tend to report significantly greater levels of early-stage entrepreneurship in developing economies than do the World Bank data. The World Bank data tend to be greater than GEM data for developed countries. Second, the magnitude of the difference between the datasets across countries is related to the local institutional and environmental conditions for entrepreneurs, after controlling for levels of economic development. A possible explanation for this is that the World Bank data measure rates of entry in the formal economy, whereas GEM data are reflective of entrepreneurial intent and capture informality of entrepreneurship. This is particularly true for developing countries. Therefore, this discrepancy can be interpreted as the spread between individuals who could potentially operate businesses in the formal sector - and those that actually do so: In other words, GEM data may represent the potential supply of entrepreneurs, whereas the World Bank data may represent the actual rate of entrepreneurship. The findings suggest that entrepreneurs in developed countries have greater ease and incentives to incorporate, both for the benefits of greater access to formal financing and labor contracts, as well as for tax and other purposes not directly related to business activities.