Business incentives and firm entry: The past, the present and the future

The effectiveness of business incentives is a subject of debate among researchers but is a popular tool of supporting regional and local economic development. This seminar will offer different perspectives on the link (established in the past) between policy-mandated business support and new firm entry. The differing points of view will serve as a background for a roundtable discussion among academics and practitioners on the ways to make incentives more effective, to bridge academic research and policy practice and to boost firm formation during and after the pandemic.

Date: 29 October 15.30-17.00
Venue & Registration: Virtual meeting over ZOOM. To participate, please register here. Link with log-in details sent to all registered participants.
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Speakers:

Antonio Accetturo Head of the Regional Analysis and Research Division, Trento Branch of the Bank of Italy

Joakim Appelquist Deputy Director General, Vinnova

Albert Bravo-Biosca Founding director, Innovation Growth Lab (IGL), Nesta

Sameeksha Desai Director of Knowledge Creation and Resarch, Kauffman Foundation

Johan Eklund Managing Director, Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum, Professor BTH and JIBS (Chair)

Carlianne Elizabeth Patrick Associate Professor, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University

Alexandra Tsvetkova Economist/Policy Analyst, OECD Trento Centre for Local Development

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Program:

15.30-15.45 Welcome and overview/logistics
Alexandra Tsvetkova, Economist/Policy Analyst, OECD Trento Centre for Local Development
Johan Eklund, Managing Director, Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum

15.45-16.00 Effects of economic incentives on business start-ups in the US: County-level evidence
Carlianne Patrick, Associate Professor, Georgia State University (USA)
Sydney Schreiner, Ph.D. student, Ohio State University (USA)
Alexandra Tsvetkova, OECD Trento Centre for Local Development
Mark Partridge, C. William Swank Chair of Rural-Urban Policy, Ohio State Univesity (USA)

16.00-16.15 Subsidies for innovative start-ups and firm entry
Antonio Accetturo, Head, Economic Research Unit, Bank of Italy – Trento branch (Italy)

16.15-16.35 Roundtable discussion (alphabetical order)
Antonio Accetturo, Head, Economic Research Unit, Bank of Italy – Trento branch (Italy)
Joakim Appelquist, Deputy Director General, Vinnova (Sweden)
Albert Bravo-Biosca, Innovation Growth Lab, NESTA (United Kingdom)
Carlianne Patrick, Associate Professor, Georgia State University (USA)

16.35-16.50 Q&A
Questions from the audience

16.50-17.00 Concluding remarks
Sameeksha Desai, Director, Kauffman Foundation (USA)