>cases
A GEM of a Study
>Abstract
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Entrepreneurial Assessment, a joint project of The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College and The London Business School, has undertaken a long-term, large-scale project to prove the causal links between a government’s economic policies and initiatives, the resulting entrepreneurial activity and subsequent economic growth. This case describes multiplestage research, including thousands of interviews in several countries by established research firms.

>The Scenario
What government policies and initiatives are most likely to generate high levels of entrepreneurial activity? Which are positively correlated with the economic well-being of a country as measured by growth in GDP and job formation? Project directors of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), who define entrepreneurship as “Any attempt at new business or new venture creation, such as self-employment, a new business organization, or the expansion of an existing business, by an individual, a team of individuals, or an established business,” suggest the following: • Promoting entrepreneurship, especially outside the most active age group (25-44), with specific programs that support entrepreneurial activity. • Facilitating the availability of resources to women to participate in the entrepreneurial process. • Committing to long-term, substantial postsecondary education, including training programs designed to develop skills required to start a business. • Emphasis on developing an individual’s capacity to recognize and pursue new opportunities. • Developing the capacity of a society to accommodate the higher levels of income disparity associated with entrepreneurial activity. • Creating a culture that validates and promotes entrepreneurship throughout society.

>The Research
Researchers at the Kauffman