Page 107 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

96 Jason Henderson, Sarah A. Low, and Stephan Weiler

The results suggest that human capital and infrastructure may have
stronger impacts on the value of entrepreneurship in metro counties than
in other counties. In general, the impact of human capital and infrastruc-
ture variables on entrepreneurship varies significantly across metropolitan
and nonmetropolitan regions. 11 Initial results revealed that counties with
high levels of human capital supported entrepreneurs that created and cap-
ture more value from entrepreneurial activity. It appears that larger, more
agglomerated metropolitan areas are able to reap even larger benefits in
terms of entrepreneurial income and value-added impacts associated with
high levels of educational attainment, foreign-born population, and infor-
mation and arts employment. Moreover, it appears that metro areas also re-
ceive larger marginal benefits from infrastructure as marginal income and
value-added of entrepreneurship is higher in metropolitan areas as well.
In terms of breadth or the quantity of entrepreneurial activity, a contrast-
12
ing tale emerges. In terms of quantity, it is nonmetropolitan or rural coun-
ties, not metropolitan counties, that are enjoying larger benefits associated
with human capital, topographic variation, and infrastructure. Nonmetro-
politan or rural counties with higher levels of human capital, topographic
variation, and interstates are found to support higher quantities of entre-
preneurial activity. Thus, human capital, topography, and interstates may be
stimulating more entrepreneurial activity in rural places compared to their
metro counterparts—yet, the challenge of producing high-value entrepre-
neurial activity still remains.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Entrepreneurship will be crucial in shaping the future of regional economic
development, especially in smaller and more remote rural areas that de-
pend heavily on entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurship creates jobs and
wealth within a region, ultimately leading to prosperity. While proprietor-
ship is prevalent in rural areas, high value entrepreneurship, which creates
the most economic benefit, is stronger in metropolitan areas.
Still, rural regions seem to be a natural seedbed for entrepreneurship. The
breadth measure shows that a high proportion of rural workers are self-
employed. Seedbeds seem to occur easily in areas with sparse economic ac-
tivity, creating opportunities to fill local needs with small establishments,
leading to many entrepreneurs who contribute greatly to the quality of life
in rural areas. The challenge is to create entrepreneurs who have higher in-
come, create more value, and provide greater contributions to regional
prosperity.
Education matters when it comes to creating high-value entrepreneurs.
Counties with higher levels of educational attainment have more entrepre-
neurs who produce higher incomes and more value-added. While the rela-