Capitalism and democracy in the 21st century

from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy

David B. Audretsch

A. R. Thurik

pp. 23-40

in: Dennis C. Mueller, UWE Cantner (eds), Capitalism and democracy in the 21st century, Heidelberg, Physica, 2001

Abstract

This paper explains how and why the developed countries are undergoing a fundamental shift away from a managed economy and towards an entrepreneurial economy. This shift is shaping the development of western capitalism and has triggered a shift in government policies away from constraining the freedom of business to contract through regulation, public ownership and antitrust towards a new set of enabling policies which foster the creation and commercialization of new knowledge. The empirical evidence from a cross-section of countries over time suggests that those countries that have experienced a greater shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy have had lower levels of unemployment.