What is the Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Unemployment in Visegrad Countries?

Abstract

The presented study aims to quantify the determinants of entrepreneurship in the four countries of the Visegrad (V4) group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) with a particular focus on the relationship between entrepreneurship and unemployment. The purpose of the research was to analyze whether, during the periods of higher unemployment rate, individuals more likely engage into entrepreneurial activity. Data were collected from the national statistical offices of the Visegrad countries, World Bank, Eurostat and Heritage Foundation. The collected sample covered years 1998-2015. To achieve the main objective of the article, regression models with the dependent variable, the rate of registered businesses per economically active inhabitant, were quantified. Estimated regressions proved a positive relationship between entrepreneurship and unemployment. A higher unemployment rate was associated with the increase in overall entrepreneurial activity. Estimated models further confirmed the negative influence of the administrative barriers on the overall entrepreneurial activity. Several policy and research implications are discussed in the study.

Individual determinants of entrepreneurship in Visegrád countries: Reflection on GEM data from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia

“…Dvouletý, 2019, p. 4). The entrepreneurship in the region is considered to be an engine of economic growth (Krasniqi & Desai, 2016;Dvouletý, 2017a;2017b;Zygmunt, 2018;Šebestová & Sroka, 2020); noteworthy, the previous entrepreneurship research in the region was also driven by the willingness of the countries to participate in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Hungary and Poland joined the GEM initiative as the first countries from the V4 Group in 2003(Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2013.…”

Development of Entrepreneurial Activity in the Czech Republic over the Years 2005–2017

“…As the assumption of the positive impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth is based mainly on findings from developed countries, it is crucial to explore entrepreneurship in other countries that have not been studied before, as recommended by Davidsson [26,27], and to see whether the traditional patterns described in entrepreneurship literature are valid or not. Such an example might be countries of the former Soviet Union that experienced the process of economic transition during the early 1990s [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] Cieślik and Van Stel [33] further explain that the former soviet socialist regime might have influenced current behaviour of economic agents (employees, entrepreneurs) in the society, and thus there might be different patterns of economic (and entrepreneurial) behaviour compared to those observed in developed countries.…”

Entrepreneurial Orientation, Knowledge Utilization and Internationalization of Firms

“…New economic conditions provided great opportunity for the development of private firms, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the last two decades, constant development of entrepreneurship in Poland has been observed [8]. The promotion of entrepreneurship is included in the most important strategic development documents of Poland [9].…”