Prof. Dr. Javier Miranda

The examination consists of several parts: In particular, students are expected to read the journal articles of a given reading list, with a few readings from popular press as well. All scholarly work can be accessed through Moodle. Every week there are short in-class quizzes covering the material for that week. In addition, students are expected to participate in class, produce tables, charts, visualizations, short papers, and give short polished presentations to the class. The points of all assignments are added and translated into a grade. The exact number of assignments and points are announced at the beginning of the semester.

The scale for grades is based on a total of 100 points. The breakdown of points among assignments is:

A) Replication of research paper using real data and statistical software package, 20 points;

B) In class presentation of a research paper (from assigned list), 15 points, and an 8 page own original paper based on it, 20 points (total of 35 points);

C) Interview with an entrepreneur, preparation of questionnaire based on class lectures, and presentation of results from interview (this is a group project), 25 points;

D) Quizzes, 10 points;

E) In class participation, 10 points.

Literature is announced at the beginning of the course.

English

The prerequisite for this course is Quantitative Economics (I), since we will be working with data in the course requiring working knowledge of statistical software. The entrepreneurship literature often sits at the intersection between macroeconomics and microeconomics, so some coursework in both is optimal.

684 M.Sc. Economics: Wahlpflichtmodul

Lecture (2 h per week), Exercise (2 h per week)

This course explores the economic importance of entrepreneurship, with a focus on recent empirical findings. Students learn about the roles entrepreneurs play in innovation, economic growth, and rising living standards, as well as determinants of entrepreneurial success such as finance, geography, and entrepreneur characteristics. The course also covers the implications for policy and explores recent patterns in entrepreneurial activity in the United States and Europe. Students become familiar with key research findings on entrepreneurship, conduct research utilizing publicly available data on firms and workers, and identify real-world examples of course concepts.

Students are familiar with the entrepreneurship literature. They understand measures of business dynamism and job flows, they can explain and discuss the role businesses play in job creation and destruction dynamics.

Students are familiar with recent trends in business dynamism and job creation in the United States and Europe. Students understand the connection between measures of business dynamism, startup activity, innovation and productivity growth.

Students are familiar with the different types of businesses and entrepreneurial motivations.

Students understand drivers of business performance including entrepreneurial characteristics, location, and access to finance.

Students are familiar with sources of data for research on entrepreneurship. They are able to formulate a research question and replicate a research study using statistical software such as Stata, R, or Python.

Students are familiar with different identification strategies to address endogeneity and draw robust causal inferences.

In the assignments and weekly quizzes they apply their understanding of the literature and demonstrate knowledge of key concepts. They learn to replicate an empirical study using real data, and develop a research question.

The learning objective of presentation and critical discussion skills requires participants to be present and actively participate in the discussion. Admission to the examination therefore requires regular attendance (in case of absence due to illness or overlapping with other compulsory dates, this must be reported immediately to the person responsible for the module and proof or credible evidence must be provided accordingly). In case of absence without corresponding proof and in case of too frequent absence - with regard to the achievement of the learning objectives - the admission to the examination can be refused. Further details are regulated by the examination regulations or the examination board.