New Evidence on the Relationship between Sustainable Economic Growth, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation

One of the primary goals of economic policies in countries is to achieve sustainable economic growth. The notion that sustainable economic growth can solve fundamental economic issues has given significant importance to concepts related to economic growth. In the economic literature, the discussion on the primary sources of economic growth has gained renewed attention with the contributions of Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950), an Austrian economist, political scientist, and sociologist. Schumpeter emphasized the role of entrepreneurs in economic development and was the first to argue that entrepreneurs drive innovation. Schumpeter argued that entrepreneurs are the main drivers of economic growth as they introduce their innovations into the production process. Technological progress is achieved through innovation. Although Schumpeter was unable to model his views on entrepreneurship and innovation at the time, his theoretical implications for their interaction have inspired researchers. Entrepreneurs are essential actors that cannot be ignored, both as a first step in organizing basic economic activities and as a key solution to meet economic needs. However, the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth depends on the generation and implementation of novel ideas. New thoughts and ideas can lead to the discovery of new needs, which in turn can lead to the production of innovative products necessary to meet those needs. As a result, an increase in production can lead to an increase in economic growth. Studies on this subject have concluded that the impact of entrepreneurship and innovation on economic growth depends on the optimal level of development in these areas. Based on this idea, in this study, the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth has been investigated theoretically and empirically from a current perspective. As a result of the analysis, it was found that entrepreneurship positively affects economic growth, whereas innovation does not have a significant effect on economic growth.