There has been insufficient debate in recent years on how Scotland can create an entrepreneurial economy.
There has been insufficient debate in recent years on how Scotland can create an entrepreneurial economy.
START-UPS: Nurturing an entrepreneurial philosophy among students is crucial if Scotland wants to grow its economy. Picture: Martin Shields
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COLIN MASON
However, there are encouraging signs that this is beginning to change. Indeed, the Scottish Government is planning to publish a discussion paper on entrepreneurship next spring.
Twenty years ago, Scotland launched its business birthrate strategy. At the time, this was an innovative approach to economic development which attracted many imitators around the world. However, 10 years later, following a review which concluded the approach had been unsuccessful, policy shifted in favour of creating more high-growth firms. This shift from "start ups" to "gazelles" reflects wider international policy thinking, with one high-profile US academic recently arguing that "encouraging people to start their own business is bad public policy". Most advanced economies now have policies in place to support high-growth firms. This approach is under-pinned by considerable research which shows that high-growth firms have a significant economic impact and create the majority of new jobs.
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