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Week of March 3 - 9, 2008 |
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Regional Policies for Entrepreneurial Economic Growth
A new paper from the Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation provides a roadmap for how regional economies can grow by
forming and cultivating new firms rather than chasing after existing
ones. While more and more regions are coming to agree with the
assessment that “smokestack chasing” is largely a zero sum game in
fostering economic growth, the new challenge centers on what policies
officials can implement to encourage the formation of entrepreneurial
business clusters. While the effectiveness of any single policy approach
to creating a business cluster is relatively modest, the Kauffman
Foundation research finds that the strongest consensus supports
streamlining local regulatory approvals to forming new businesses and
discouraging progressive taxation at the state and local levels. The
least attractive options involve policies that target spending either on
research programs or on particular industries or particular firms.
Localities rarely have the requisite expertise required to make good
decisions in this area, the report says. |
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State Strategies to Promote Angel Investing The National
Governors Association (NGA) recently released a report presenting a scan
of what state governments are doing and should be doing to help support
angel investors and angel groups in their states. The research notes
that state support for angel groups is growing, with specific activities
ranging from sponsorship of conferences and training sessions to
assisting with the creation of funds. Many states are beginning to offer
tax credits for angel investors. The NGA study notes mixed opinions
about the impact of these credits as some investors and outside experts
question whether credits have a limited impact on deal quality. However,
if governors opt to use this tool, tax credits should be closely tracked
and monitored to ensure that they are stimulating deal flow and
additional angel investment activity. |
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Technology Review has recently released its
latest list, “The 10 Emerging Technologies of 2008.” As always, the list
contains lots of interesting new ideas and technologies that promise
tremendous future advances that could affect all of our lives. For
example, wireless power, which transmits electricity via magnetic
resonance, could mean the end of scrambling around the airport looking
to plug in your laptop. Meanwhile, connectomics is a new means to
mapping the brain that promises a better understanding of diseases such
as autism and schizophrenia. Finally, cellulolytic enzymes will help
make it easier and cheaper to create biofuels from cheap biomass such as
prairie grass, wood chips, and agricultural waste. |
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Fast Company’s seventh annual listing of the
world’s fifty most innovative companies, the Fast 50, was released this
month. The list is compiled from expert interviews and analysis of
relevant data and statistics. The top performers won’t come as a
surprise to most E-News or Fast Company readers. Google takes the Number
one ranking, followed by (in order): Apple, Facebook, GE, and Ideo. The
issue takes a deep look at Google, with a visit to company headquarters
(aka the Googleplex) and interviews that seek to better understand how
Google is able to instill “a sense of creative fearlessness” in its
workforce. |
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Innovation Policy and the Economy
Some of the country’s leading academic and policy researchers will be
center stage at the National Bureau of Economic Research's 2008
Innovation Policy and the Economy conference. The Innovation Policy and
Economy Group focuses on the implications of rapid technological change
for economic policy, and the appropriate policies and programs regarding
research, innovation, and the commercialization of new technology. Made
possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation, this year’s conference
will be held on April 15 in Washington, DC. The program will feature
remarks from Dennis Carlton, a professor of economics at the University
of Chicago who awaits confirmation to the White House's Council of
Economic Advisors. The deadline to register is March 28. If you would
like to attend, contact Rob Shannon –
rshannon@nber.org. |
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The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. |
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National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
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stories © 2008 The Public Forum Institute
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