Studies on the impact of technological innovation on growth have been largely mute on the role of␣new firm formation. Using cross-sectional data on the 37 countries participating in GEM 2002, this paper uses an augmented Cobb–Douglas production to explore firm formation and technological innovation as separate determinants of growth. One area of interest is the contrast between different types of entrepreneurial activities as measured using GEM Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rates – high growth potential TEA, necessity TEA, opportunity TEA and overall TEA. Of the four types of entrepreneurship, only high growth potential entrepreneurship is found to have a significant impact on economic growth. This finding is consistent with extant findings in the literature that it is fast growing new firms, not new firms in general, that accounted for most of the new job creation by small and medium enterprises in advanced countries. Copyright Springer 2005entrepreneurship, economic growth,

Since Wetzel (1982Wetzel ( , 1983 identified the business angel as a primary source of risk capital, there has been increased interest in the role of informal investors in the formation of new business ventures in the developed OECD countries. However, there remains little known about informal investors in developing or newly industrialized economies such as Singapore. Based on data collected using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) methodology , this paper examines the characteristics of informal investors in Singapore, and analyses the key determinant factors that differentiate individuals who become informal investors from those who do not make informal investments. In particular, we examine if these factors differ depending on the relationship between the investor and entrepreneur. We also investigate the differences between determinants of higher and lower value investment propensities. The findings reveal that knowing entrepreneurs personally was the factor with the strongest influence on informal investing propensity in Singapore. Other findings suggest that informal investing propensity in Singapore is less influenced by demographic factors and income, and more by prior entrepreneurial experience and self-perceived skills with new business formation.

Research summary: We examine the dilemma of ethnic investors in using ethnic network ties to invest by extending the 'ethnic enclave' concept to incorporate two dimensions: social network and social status. Our analysis of the first round of venture capital funding in Silicon Valley from 1976 to 2004 shows a higher likelihood of Asian venture capitalists (VCs) investing in Asian-led ventures than mainstream VCs. In addition, the valuation of their investments in mainstream ventures is higher than those by mainstream VCs in such ventures. In contrast, this premium effect is not observed when mainstream VCs invest in Asian ventures. These asymmetrical findings suggest the premium Asian VCs pay to compete in the mainstream venture market is due to their lower social status rather than their social network disadvantages. Managerial summary: Do ethnic minority investors behave differently from more mainstream investors? We examine this question by studying the venture capital industry in Silicon Valley over the period 1976 to 2004. We found that Asian venture capitalists (VCs) were more likely to invest in immigrant Asian entrepreneurs than mainstream VCs, and when they did invest in mainstream ventures, they paid higher valuations than mainstream VCs. In contrast, mainstream VCs did not pay higher average valuations compared to Asian VCs when they invested in Asian ventures. We show that two social factors-the ethnic minority VCs' social network ties and their lower social status-could have contributed to such behavioral differences.

Nanotechnology patenting has grown rapidly in recent years as an increasing number of countries are getting into the global nanotechnology race. Using a refined methodology to identify and classify nanotechnology patents, this paper analyses the changing pattern of internationalization of nanotechnology patenting activities from 1976-2004. We show that the dominance of the G5 countries have declined in recent years, not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality as measured by citation indicators. In addition, using a new approach to classifying the intended areas of commercial applications, we show that nanotechnology patenting initially emphasized instrumentation, but exhibited greater diversification to other application areas in recent years. Significant differences in application area specialization are also found among major nanotechnology nations. Moreover, universities are found to play a significant and increasing role in patenting, particularly in US, UK and Canada.

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This paper provides empirical estimates for the impact of R&D on economic growth in Singapore. The Cobb–Douglas based analysis found that R&D investment had a significant impact on total factor productivity performance in the last 20 years and established a long-term equilibrium relationship between R&D investments and TFP. However, compared to OECD countries, the impact of R&D on growth in Singapore is not as strong. To catch up with the developed nations in terms of R&D productivity not only requires increasing R&D intensity in Singapore but also more efficient exploitation of domestic R&D activity.

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The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the view of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. Policy Research Working Papers are available online at http://econ.worldbank.org.