After a structural decline of entrepreneurship (business
ownership) in the Western world during the greater part of this century, in
recent years many countries have shown a revival. This holds particularly for
the US (since the mid seventies), the UK and (from 1985 onwards) the
Netherlands. In my talk I will briefly deal with the determinants of this
decline and revival.
The Netherlands are an interesting case as they moved
from “Dutch disease” to “Dutch miracle” in less than 20 years. In my
talk I will try to explain how this transition came about and which role was
played by government policy.
Next I will focus attention on the new Europe: the
European Union and its internal market, the Maastricht treaty and the Euro.
Macro-economic convergence as well as remaining differences in prosperity,
cultures and institutions will be touched upon. However also major economic
problems remain: slow growth and persistently high unemployment in most member
states. Some notable exceptions in this respect are the Netherlands and the
UK.
Is it a coincidence that these two countries seem to have
become relatively entrepreneurial during the past decade? A comparison between
these countries, the USA and on the other hand mainstream continental Europe
suggests a framework of a common policy for the new Europe:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
POLICY IN THE NEW EUROPE