Interregional Integration of Entrepreneurial Activity in Spain

What is it about?

The spatial configuration of entrepreneurship is determined by quality entrepreneurs to generate ‘creative’ regions defined by high levels of human capital, internationalization, and exposure to enhanced managerial practices. The objective of this paper is to study which factors determine this entrepreneurial heterogeneity. Complementary to this goal, the authors analyze if it is possible to harmonize convergence of the GDP despite the idiosyncrasies of the territories to make Spain as an integrated economic unit. Using GEM data, location quotients, specialization coefficients, and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test for all the variables involved in the analysis, the authors demonstrate that Spain is not a homogeneous space of entrepreneurship with regional differences not overly pronounced. And this gap will broaden as competition increases and the leading regions attract the best human capital. The primary variables that explain this diversity are social (differences in education, desire for entrepreneurship, and family influences), and economic (diverse access to finance, various market niches and purchasing power, and discontinuity in salary flows). The paper ends with some conclusions and future research lines.

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Why is it important?

Our findings show that Spain is not a homogeneous space of entrepreneurship, and we define the social and economic factors that explain this behavior.

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