August 2, 2018
Sweden has for a decade witnessed a trend-wise increase in entrepreneurship, re-positioning Sweden from a very modest position among innovation-driven countries to a considerably more prominent rank. Parallel to this development a few young firms valued at US41 billion or more have emerged, suggesting that the increase is not only quantitative but also qualitative. The Swedish GEM studies have been pivotal in describing and encouraging this process.
Contribution of GEM to policy
GEM is considered to be a well-known, highly accepted and a unique data source for cross country and intertemporal comparisons of entrepreneurial activities and entrepreneurial attitudes. The Swedish GEM report is widely used among governmental authorities as a vehicle to understand the entrepreneurial process, identify the bottlenecks for entrepreneurial success and ultimately design policies.
1. Universities and technical colleges
The GEM report is frequently used in teaching at institutions such Stockholm School of Economics and the Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences. The data is also used in research and often pooled with other data at a more aggregated level.
2. Non-university research institutions
Different private research institutes occasionally use the data. Also private industry and small business associations have an interest in the GEM reports/database.
Stakeholders who use GEM
GEM data is discussed and used by politicians and policy makers. However, policy conclusions and recommendations are not always implemented on the political agenda. Different political parties use the GEM results as is evident when promoting politics and their agenda. Here is an example.
GEM Sweden’s team leader, Professor Pontus Braunerhjelm, was head of the latest Official Report of the Swedish Government (SOU) on entrepreneurship. This Report was handed over to the Ministry for Enterprise in October 2016.
Where are articles published?
The media in Sweden regularly report on GEM findings especially just after the annual launch of the country report. In 2017 three of the largest newspapers covered the news from the GEM-launch.
Entrepreneurship programs
Sweden has support programs dedicated to entrepreneurship which can be found at the federal level (Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth), the County Councils and at municipal level. There is also a governmental funding program for entrepreneurs conducted by Almi.
This is a shortened version of a chapter that first appeared in the publication The Influence of GEM on Policy 2017/18.
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