Page 109 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

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

The lack of large concentrations of local economic activity makes it es-
sential for rural places to develop networks and links to nodes of economic
activity. These places are often city-based nodes that feature broader and
deeper market and supplier possibilities for entrepreneurs. Furthermore,
the larger amount of business activity itself generates valuable information
on market prospects for probing entrepreneurs, who in turn can use the in-
formation to sharpen their own business plans.
Network development and partnerships across sector and place are keys
to the success of boosting entrepreneurship in Appalachian Ohio (Emery,
Fisher, and Macke 2003). With support from the Appalachian Regional
Commission (ARC), six regional economic, community, arts, and nature
development organizations partnered to create the Appalachian Ohio Re-
gional Investment Coalition (AORIC). This coalition is helping facilitate
entrepreneurial development by helping entrepreneurs in Appalachian
Ohio tap funding, facilities, and other resources to spur business growth.
Infrastructure development may be especially important in developing
these networks. Transportation infrastructure allows entrepreneurs to con-
nect to other locations, both in terms of their markets and their suppliers.
In rural areas, interstates have a strong correlation with entrepreneurial de-
velopment. Furthermore, high-quality telecommunications allows rural en-
trepreneurs to connect with resources, assets, and information in other re-
gions to overcome limited local capacities. For example, the Small Business
Administration has an E-Business Institute (www.sba.gov/training) that of-
fers free online courses and national training events to assist entrepreneurs.
Such cross-regional flows can help both types of region, as more urbanized
areas can tap the often cheaper assets of rural places while rural areas can
take advantage of denser urban marketplaces.
High-value entrepreneurs contribute to regional prosperity through the
jobs and income they add to a regional economy. Entrepreneurs are true as-
sets to their region, as well as innovative users of other regional assets. Re-
gional leaders can use these breadth and depth indicators to gauge how
high-value entrepreneurs could become part of a regional development
strategy. These strategies could usefully include productive partnering with
other regions to take advantage of mutual complementarities such as those
sketched between rural and urban places.

NOTES

1. The views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and do not neces-
sarily reflect the positions of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City or the Federal
Reserve System.
2. McGrath, McMillan, and Scheinberg (1992) find that entrepreneurs are more
risk tolerant than corporate professionals.