The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship: the developing country context

摘要

This is among the few studies to test the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship (KSTE) at the city level in a developing country i.e. Pakistan. KSTE is in its empirical infancy; while the theory has been lauded for its advancement of microeco-nomic foundations in endogenous growth theory, there is scant literature on just how well KSTE holds when tested empirically outside the developed world. This study uses a novel dataset to measure knowledge stock and spillovers in ten major cities across Pakistan to answer the question: What is the role of knowledge spillover in the creation of business firms in cities of a developing country? The study provides valuable insights into the factors that lead to higher levels of firm creation through panel data analysis of ten cities of Pakistan during 2002-2014, and also contributes to captivating the global appeal for KSTE by testing the theory empirically in a developing country.