Christine Tamásy

Geographies of crisis

This commentary is a response to Larner’s (2011) article ‘C-change? Geographies of crisis’. It applauds her arguments while suggesting that it might be helpful to (re)consider development in the recent period of global(izing) crisis. Furthermore, it discusses what economic geography as a subfield of geography can contribute to better understand C-change.

Regionalized Input-Output Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: Food Production Case Study

Sustainability assessment requires the use of evaluation of regional processes as a basis. Regional statistical data on economic, social, and environmental aspects is used for the construction of regional sustainability assessment system as a basis for regionalized input-output life cycle sustainability assessment performed for a few regions in Germany. The results indicated the capability of a system to estimate the relative efficiency of resource use for diverse regions and separate pillars of sustainability. It was identified that sustainability of food production rates is comparable with rates of regional development, which indicates the promoting or regressing importance of separate production fields.

Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Regional Development: National and Regional Perspectives

This stimulating book analyses the role of entrepreneurship in regional development. As it seems plausible to expect a positive relationship between entrepreneurship and growth, policy-makers and local economic development practitioners all over the world clearly believe that fostering entrepreneurship is one promising way for achieving economic progress. The book provides theoretical arguments and empirical evidence that the effects of entrepreneurship on regional development and the factors that influence entrepreneurship vary between nations and regions. Central to this perspective is an analytical framework that conceptualizes entrepreneurship as a ‘regional event’. Region-specific factors, it is argued, influence not only the level of entrepreneurship, but also the type of business that is newly created, for example, high-growth ventures and innovative businesses. Moreover, the empirical analyses presented in this book suggest that only in some nations or regions entrepreneurship is accompanied by considerable growth, for example, in employment, while the effects on growth may be negative or negligible in other nations or regions. In most of the empirical work, the authors define entrepreneurship as the process of new firm formation, which is undoubtedly one very important facet of entrepreneurship. The book contains contributions from prominent academics in economics, economic geography, strategic management, etc. to understand better the role of entrepreneurship in regional development. It contains nine chapters including an Introduction (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 examines the interconnectedness between globalization, entrepreneurship and the role of regions. Chapter 3 is concerned with the regional determinants of entrepreneurial activities. Chapter 4 looks at the effects of new business formation on regional development. Chapter 5 examines the impacts of different types of new ventures on labour productivity. Chapter 6 investigates fast-growing firms (so-called gazelles). Chapter 7 presents evidence of the influence of regulations on firm emergence and growth. Chapter 8 deals with the inadvertent effects of entrepreneurship policy in a regional context. Chapter 9 reviews the role universities play in entrepreneurship and economic development. Individual book chapters contain many useful suggestions and hints for future research on entrepreneurship from national and regional perspectives. The book also provides policy recommendations. The first general recommendation is that policy should create a favourable environment for entrepreneurship and for innovative new businesses in particular. This includes the creation of an appropriate knowledge base for innovations, regulations that are conducive to new businesses (for example, health regulations, competition policy) and a favourable regional entrepreneurial culture. The second general recommendation for policy is not to interfere with the market selection process (survival of the fittest) to secure growthenhancing effects of new businesses. Only a fraction of innovative firms make a significant contribution to economic growth over time. Therefore, a ‘pick the winner’ strategy providing special financial assistance to potential high-growth ventures that might create considerable economic growth in the future ‘runs a high risk not only of wasting public resources but also of distorting market selection processes’ (p. 9). The authors are to be applauded for their contributions in the area of entrepreneurship, but a comprehensive understanding of the geographies of entrepreneurship is still missing. A central challenge in understanding entrepreneurship is integrating quantitative and qualitative research results, in particular in areas where, for example, actor-network theory with its ethnographic sensibilities could make significant contributions to explain entrepreneurial behaviour in particular contexts. I think more studies are needed that go beyond mere description at a generalizable level and which should embrace more often the scope and value of qualitative research on entrepreneurship. Despite the fact that entrepreneurship can be studied using a variety of methods, it is still considered as a field lacking methodological diversity. Future research might also benefit from taking more often a gender perspective on entrepreneurship. Even though female entrepreneurs make significant contributions to economic growth, they are still understudied. Filling the gap of female entrepreneurship would definitely move us forward in better understanding processes of new firm formation. Overall, the book is an important reading in the field of entrepreneurship. One of its main contributions is that it clearly shows that the process of new firm formation is a regional event. The chapters are rich in theoretical insights and data, and are valuable readings for students, academics, and policy-makers interested in entrepreneurship and regional growth.