The power of the right advice for small and medium business growth in a difficult political and economic context
In this IGL funded trial, the team at Ideas Foundation look at the impact of tailored consultancy support for SMEs in Venezuela.
Blog
Read the latest blogs from the IGL network.
How to harness the benefits of the remote working revolution
A key learning from 2020 must be maximising opportunities for better, fairer work amid the ongoing shift away from offices
Spotlight: Showcasing new research on entrepreneurship, innovation and science
This blog showcases summaries of the nine papers chosen from the submissions to our call to feature the work of job market candidates, across topics such as entrepreneurship, business support, science, technology and innovation.
Spotlight: Calling all job market candidates
The academic job market for economists is different this year: interviews will be conducted online, fly-outs are likely to be virtual, and many departments have postponed their hiring altogether because of the pandemic. At the Innovation Growth Lab, we want to do our part and use our platforms to showcase job market papers related to our fields of work.
Hidden traps of RCTs in a business context – what you should be aware of
Christina Ungerer from the IST institute at Constance University of Applied Sciences explores the hidden traps of RCTs after their IGL-funded trial into business coaching.
Using experimental evidence for policymaking: comparative analysis of results obtained from experimental and non-experimental methods in the IEG field
Despite the importance of entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to economic growth, very little policy supporting the growth of these industries is subjected to rigorous evaluation. This blog from the London School of Economic Capstone project seeks to explore why.
What the Horizon 2020 Innosup programme can teach us about RCTs: The lessons
Part two of our two-part blog series on the insights gained from innovation agencies designing new or improved policy schemes supporting SME innovation, and testing these using randomised controlled trials (RCTs). We share what can be taken away for future innovation policy when evaluating business support programmes.
What the Horizon 2020 Innosup programme can teach us about RCTs: The challenges
In this post, we summarise some challenges that innovation agencies have faced when designing new or improved policy schemes supporting SME innovation, and testing these using randomised controlled trials (RCTs). We share what does and doesn’t work for future innovation policy when evaluating business support programmes.
Enterprise and employment growth: youth trainings and mentorship in Tanzania
Youth account for 60% of the unemployed in Africa. One approach to increasing employment among youth is to provide training and mentoring for young people to help them find jobs or start new businesses. This study evaluates the impact of a training and mentorship program with a robust long-term support component on Tanzanian youth’s employment, entrepreneurial activities, and self-confidence.
Expanding access to microcredit in Egypt
In this IGL funded trial, the team outline the scope of their research into microcredit and the impact of larger loads for high potential businesses.
Perspective and Idea Generation
Which is better for innovation: taking your perspective or that of someone else? In this IGL-funded trial Charlie Ebert outlines the first findings from their research, which has produced some surprising results.
Support for businesses and innovators in the time of Covid-19: The role of innovation agencies
By now it is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic is much more than a global health crisis. In this blog, Marieke Goettsch and Alex Glennie outline the impact Covid-19 has had on innovation, and the role innovation agencies can play in the recovery effort.