Innovation and entrepreneurship

George Bush, US President, thinks that the reason the French economy is in such bad shape is the fact that the French don't have a word for entrepreneur.

The above joke was used by Carl Schramm, President of the Kauffman Foundation and author of the book Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism and the Economics of Growth and Prosperity, in this short podcast about the vital role of the entrepreneur in America's and the rest of the world's economy.

Joseph Schumpeter, an economist, wrote extensively about the entrepreneur. He also wrote about the factors that contribute to entrepreneurial behaviour in individuals:

- a desire for personal freedom

- a desire to prove oneself as better than others

- a desire to exercise one's energy and ingenuity (as one Israeli entrepreneur put it: "The real kick is the success not the fruits of success.")

- a desire to form a "transgenerational dynasty" (This suggests that parents are more likely to demonstrate entrepreneurial behaviour)

- a desire to form one's own personal kingdom

- a desire for freedom from the control of others etc.

There's also another one which cannot be ignored:

- no other alternatives (desperation)

America's history of entrepreneurship is bursting with tales of penniless migrants who, through entrepreneurial behaviour, became hugely successful -- and rich.

What is really interesting about the (successful) entrepreneur, though, is the fact that he or she can break out of the social "class" into which he or she was born. There's nothing like free and open markets for a bit of social mobility.