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What Is the Role of an Entrepreneur in Economy and Society

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What is the role of an entrepreneur in economy and society Introduction Entrepreneur is a hot topic for both academic scholars and people ambitious for business success. They are a group of persons who can significantly influence many aspects of economy and society. This paper will critically discuss the role of entrepreneurs by examining their contributions to the economy and society, using examples from various articles on the topic. Starting by defining the entrepreneurs to be discussed, this paper examines the contributions to economy from the aspects of employment, innovation, productivity and growth, utility; certain costs or drawbacks are also considered. Though the business activities of entrepreneurs produce social …show more content…

Based on recent academic studies and research, there are four main indicators commonly used to analyze how entrepreneurs make contributions to the economy, employment, innovation, productivity/growth and utility. To Employment Firstly, companies contribute to the amount of employment generated, in which not only the quantity, but also the quality is to be seriously considered. By quality, it refers to aspects of employee's remuneration, in forms of salaries and other benefits; and also their job satisfaction levels. According to many studies, entrepreneurial companies have been making a significant contribution to the creation of jobs, which is disproportionately high compared to larger, established companies. According to Fritsch (1997), "a region characterized by a higher start-up rate is associated with higher employment increase" (cited by Praag and Versloot, 2008). Fölster (2000) also claims a similar positive correlation for Sweden. However, recent studies have begun to examine both the direct and indirect effects of entrepreneurial companies on employment. New start-ups create new jobs, whereas some other companies in the market are facing more competition and may be forced to enter administration or reduce jobs to cut costs, thus causing more people to be out of employment. Mueller et al. (2008) analyzed start-up rates and the regional employment changes in British regions, showing that "higher start-up rates are associated with

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