Entrepreneurship and the business cycle: the “Schumpeter” effect versus the “refugee” effect—a French appraisal based on regional data
Résumé
We study the influences of new-firm start-ups on growth at the regional and macroeconomic level in France using a quarterly database over the 1993–2011 period. We find that fluctuations in GDP are an early indicator of new-firm start-ups. Nevertheless, the most important relationships are found between the unemployment rate and new-firm start-ups. Entrepreneurship is mainly driven by an unemployment “push” effect that have consequences upon the potential of growth of new-firm start-ups in most of the French regions. The Île-de France region is an exception since the “Schumpeter” effect prevails in the long term.