Entrepreneurial Behavior and the Development of Trading Institutions: An Analytical Approach

This paper makes explicit the role of the entrepreneur in a consumer-producer economy. Entrepreneurial behavior changes the status quo by altering existing comparative advantages. A positive feedback effect with trading institutions ensues. This model shows how the entrepreneur can, when successful, create economic growth but if unsuccessful, can contribute to an economic contraction. Using our theoretical approach, propositions are generated that explain empirical observations of entrepreneurship. This framework offers a tool for future analytical and empirical investigations into entrepreneurship in a systematic way.