DO PUBLIC POLICIES FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP MAKE A DIFFERENCE? PROSPECTIVE SCENARIOS FOR CANADA, IRELAND, AND ITALY <br><strong>DOI:10.7444/fsrj.v4i1.95</strong>

Abstract

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) constitute the majority of businesses and a significant part of developed and developing countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This article presents a series of prospective scenarios that investigate the effects of public policies on entrepreneurship in Canada, Ireland, and Italy. Public policies for this sector can be classified as regulatory policies (e.g., laws for the entrance and exit of businesses, labor and social laws, property laws, tax laws, intellectual property laws, bankruptcy laws, and laws that affect the liquidity and availability of capital) and stimulus policies (e.g., promotion of cultural and educational programs to foster entrepreneurship and internationalization). Regulatory policies influence the business environment for MSMEs, and are generally designed to provide entrepreneurs with high growth potential (known as “gazelles”). Four scenarios involving the critical uncertainties surrounding political and economic integration and technological development are developed for each country. Each scenario is constructed based on public policies specific to each country. This article concludes that public policies are not a panacea capable of generating economic development, given that their effectiveness depends on other economic decisions and exogenous economic conditions. However, the absence of state intervention does not produce positive effects, even in the case of positive scenarios under exogenous conditions.