«How is Entrepreneurship Good for Economic Growth?»
Speech by Zoltan J. Acs
American economist, Professor of Management at the London School of Economics and George Mason University
To what extent is entrepreneurship good for economic growth? There seems to be a simple answer: Entrepreneurs start new businesses, and new businesses in turn create jobs, increase competition and can even increase productivity through technological change. A high level of entrepreneurship therefore leads directly to high economic growth. But the reality is more complicated. If ‘entrepreneurship’ is taken to mean any kind of informal self-employment, then high levels of entrepreneurship can either mean that there are significant bureaucratic hurdles to formally starting a new business, or that the economy is simply creating too few jobs for wage earners. Under these circumstances, one could hypothesise that high levels of ‘entrepreneurship’ correlate with slow economic growth and development.
The full text of the speech is available as a PDF here:
Text of the speech
«Management of a Listed Family Business»
Speech Magdalena Martullo-Blocher (in German)
CEO of Ems-Chemie-Holding
Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, major shareholder, Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Ems Group, also spoke, but her tone, composure and quick wit conveyed the message that she does what she says. Indeed, it was almost as if she had brought her company, which dwarfs many of its competitors in the chemical industry in terms of profitability, into the room with her. She repeatedly emphasised the practical approach to leadership and innovation, the difference between manager and entrepreneur, the importance of the emotional, and it was in this respect that she scored with the audience.
