Driving Complexity in Economic Development

This book analyzes the role of institutions in conditioning entrepreneurship and innovation to achieve economic development. Set against the backdrop of populism, which has increased to the extent of threatening institutions and productive activities - including entrepreneurship and innovation - the book is based on the premise that formal and informal institutional factors and entrepreneurship are closely linked and that studying the economic development of both developed and emerging economies can help us disentangle the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in the latter countries. Using institutional economics and the sociotechnical subsystems approach as theoretical frameworks, the authors present a detailed literature review to demonstrate that it is possible to identify the true role of entrepreneurship and innovation in the economic development process. The book embraces complexity to better measure and comprehend economic development, and goes beyond economic factors such as GDP, HDI, and GINI to bring a more compelling perspective about the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation for different dimensions of development. Case studies are presented detailing the successful countries that have promoted entrepreneurship and innovation in order to help diagnose existing shortcomings in developing countries such as Latin America. Finally, the true effect of the taxation system on entrepreneurship and innovation is examined. With these contributions, the book makes clear policy recommendations for developing countries to boost entrepreneurship and innovation, while also highlighting the weak organizational structures of developing countries.