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, this 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 developing countries. Using institutional economics as a main theoretical framework and the sociotechnical subsystems as a complementary approach, 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, bringing a more compelling perspective on the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation for different dimensions of development. A valuable resource for students, scholars, and policymakers, the authors offer clear recommendations for developing countries. Diego Gomez is the Executive Director of Fundación ECSIM (Economic Center for Simulation and Modelling) in Medellin, Colombia. Diego’s research explores the complexity involved in the economic development process, taking into consideration the existence of interrelated systems and the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in boosting such relationships. Sebastian Aparicio is a Serra Hunter Fellow in the Department of Business at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). He is also a Researcher at the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Research (CREIS) and at the Centre for University Entrepreneurship (CIEU-UAB). His research explores the effects of entrepreneurship on economic development. David Urbano is a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Department of Business and ICREA-Academia research fellow. Also, he is Director at the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Research (CREIS) (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). His research focuses on the analysis of factors affecting entrepreneurship in different contexts, using the institutional approach.