Abstract:

The potential of entrepreneurship to ensure prosperity not only at an individual level but also for the local communities or regions is a key theme present in academic and political debates in most countries worldwide. Regardless of development levels, the political climate or the degree of international integration, the issues concerning the uneven development of the regions, the contrasts between the exceptional technological advance of certain development poles and the stagnation of neighboring areas represents a considerable challenge. Most studies insist on the essential role of personal initiative and motivation in business creation and development, but they also emphasis the entrepreneurial dependence upon the economic, social, regional or community context. In the present paper we intend to study whether the dynamics of firm formation influence the evolution of the main macroeconomic indicators, especially the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the active population, at the level of the 8 development regions of Romania. Our results cannot firmly confirm this relationship, but we have found that for some regions that are already better placed in terms of economic development, infrastructure, human capital, etc., the entrepreneurial dynamics can moderately influence the growth of the employed population and indirectly, the evolution of GDP.