Persistence and Change in Regional Entrepreneurship Performance – A Three Economy Comparison

Custom Field Value: April 11, 2025

What are the drivers of change in regional entrepreneurship performance over time? To what extent is the development of regional entrepreneurial activity in different national contexts driven by the same or similar factors? How important is the national context compared to regional factors?

In a new paper that was just published in Regional Studies Jon Potter, Haifeng Qian, Georgios Fotopoulos, and I provide a first systematic international comparison of long-term persistence and change of regional levels in self-employment and new business formation in the United States, England and Wales, and West Germany. Analyzing the factors associated with long-term changes in regional start-up performance over a 40-year period (1980-2020), we find that the three economies are highly comparable in the levels of path dependency in their regional start-up rate rankings. Most importantly, the factors related to long-term changes in regional start-up performance in the three economies are quite similar. We find that regional levels of human capital, foreign-born population and population density explain improvements of regional performance, while regional wages, population age structure, small firm presence, and regional industry structure are not important factors. We suggest policy implications and an agenda for further research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2025.2474033