Public Policy and Rural
Entrepreneurship
National Public Policy Education Conference
St. Louis, Missouri
September 21, 2004
Entrepreneurial
Genome: A Double
Helix
Individual
Community
Entrepreneurial
Genome
• A successful entrepreneur can be viewed as
a healthy, functioning organism.
• The “switches” in the entrepreneurial
genome represent individual and
environmental factors.
• An entrepreneur’s probability of success
depends on whether these switches are in
the “on” or “off” position.
Putting It Together: The
Healthy Entrepreneur
Propensity
Education
Capital
Innovation
Labor
Team
Support Services
Mentors
Policy
Giveback
Networks
Feedback
Environment
Education and Development
K-8
Support
Services
High School
Recognition
College & University
Infrastru cture
Aspiring
Growth
Policy
Give
Back
High
Growth
Source: Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation, 2001
Policy versus Programs
Four Government Roles
Producer
Facilitator
Enabler
Prohibitor
“The System”
Federal
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Interests
Media
State
Local
Framework for Entrepreneurship
Development
Framework for Entrepreneurship Development
Do residents have a propensity to
become entrepreneurs?
No
Policies/Programs That
Address Cultural or
Behavioral Issues (e.g., K-12
education)
No
Policies/Programs That Prepare
Rural Residents to Be
Entrepreneurs (e.g. adult
training)
No
Policies/Programs That Support
Business Growth (e.g., financial
assistance, cooperative
marketing)
Yes
Do residents have the
knowledge and skills associated
with entrepreneurship?
Yes
Are residents succeeding as
entrepreneurs?
Yes
An Entrepreneurial
Economy
Jay Kayne
Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Copyright 2000
Do residents have a propensity
to become entrepreneurs?
Do residents have the
knowledge and skill associated
with entrepreneurship?
Are resident
entrepreneurs
succeeding?
What’s Wrong with
This Picture?
Other
99.3%
E-Activity
70%
Other
30%
Percentage Difference in
Economic Growth Explained
by Entrepreneurial Activity
Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2000
E-Activity
0.7%
Percentage State Economic
Development Resources for
Entrepreneurship Development
Source: NASDA Survey of State Expenditures 1999
The Political
Challenge
• Entrepreneurship represents:
– “patient” economic development.
– “incremental” economic development.
– “venture” economic development.
• For many politicians:
– “wealth” is still a four-letter word.
Examples of Policy
Innovations
• Entrepreneurship Education
– Not in addition to state standards; as a
technique to teach to standards
• Unemployment Insurance
– Give entrepreneurship the same weight as
“pounding the pavement” looking for a new job
• Use of Public Schools and Community
Colleges
– Entrepreneurship Laboratories
– Adult Entrepreneurship Education
– Networking events
• Tax Deferrals (versus abatements)
Readings
• “The Public Policy Arena,” Jay Kayne, Ewing Marion
Kauffman Foundation, 1999
• “State Entrepreneurship Policies & Programs,” Jay
Kayne, Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial
Leadership, 2000
• “A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State
Entrepreneurship Policy,” National Governors
Association, 2004
• “American Formula for Growth,” National
Commission on Entrepreneurship, 2002
• “Entrepreneurship: A Candidate’s Guide,” National
Commission on Entrepreneurship, 2002
Readings
• The Emergence of Entrepreneurial Policy, David Hart
(editor), Cambridge University Press, 2003
• Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Executive Report
(available for 1999-2003)
• “Entrepreneurship as an Economic Development
Strategy,” Jay Kayne, Center for Rural
Entrepreneurship, (forthcoming)
For More Information
Jay Kayne
Cintas Chair & Professor of Entrepreneurship
Richard T. Farmer School of Business
Miami University
513-529-9298
kayneja@muohio.edu