Arbeitspapier

The allocation of entrepreneurial talent and destructive entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is generally regarded as a force of change, innovation, and development in modern economies. Entrepreneurs bring new and better products to markets, restore allocative efficiency through arbitrage and reinvest their profits. However, it has been argued that the same energy and talent can also be allocated to unproductive ends and reduce total welfare. In this paper we present a model that analyzes the allocation of a given entrepreneurial talent over destructive and productive activities. We show that in this model two stable equilibria can emerge. As Baumol (1990) hypothesized, institutions determine the payoffs to both types of entrepreneurial activity and hence drive this allocation. But we also show that the distribution of initial wealth and entrepreneurial talent play a decisive role. This analysis provides a different perspective on the importance of high quality institutions in developing countries and sheds light on the situation in conflict and post-conflict countries, where both informal and formal institutions arguably have broken down. Under such circumstances, our analysis shows that microcredits can support the transition to a productive equilibrium, because they help to overcome credit constraints without creating incentives for destructive entrepreneurship.

Sprache
Englisch
ISBN
978-92-9230-283-2

Erschienen in
Series: WIDER Working Paper ; No. 2010/46

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
Thema
destructive entrepreneurship
allocation of talent
development
institutions

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Sanders, Mark
Weitzel, Utz
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
(wo)
Helsinki
(wann)
2010

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
20.09.2024, 08:24 MESZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Sanders, Mark
  • Weitzel, Utz
  • The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)

Entstanden

  • 2010

Ähnliche Objekte (12)