فهرست مطالب امینه زیوری

Entrepreneurship is a crucial engine for economic growth, job creation, and innovation. However, limited access to financial resources remains a significant barrier for aspiring entrepreneurs. This study builds on the established link between financial development and entrepreneurship by exploring the crucial role of institutional quality in this relationship. We posit that a robust and well-functioning financial system alone may not be sufficient to foster entrepreneurship in the absence of strong institutions. Extensive research has documented the positive impact of financial development on entrepreneurship. Increased access to financial resources through developed financial institutions and markets empowers individuals to pursue entrepreneurial ventures (Dutta & Meierrieks, 2021; Ajide & Ojeyinka, 2022). However, the effectiveness of financial development can be contingent on the prevailing institutional environment (Beck et al., 2002). Strong institutions, characterized by good governance, rule of law, and property rights enforcement, create a conducive environment for entrepreneurial activity by reducing uncertainty and mitigating risks. 

This study employs a two-pronged approach to analyze the relationship between financial development, institutional quality, and entrepreneurship in MENA countries. First, a system GMM model is estimated to examine the direct effects of financial development (FD) and institutional quality (GQ) on entrepreneurship (EN), measured by the Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rate. (1)  Where i and t represent country and year, respectively. Xit is a vector of control variables including GDP per capita, GDP growth rate, government size, trade openness, business startup costs, foreign direct investment, and tax burden.Second, a panel threshold model is employed to investigate the conditional effect of institutional quality on the relationship between financial development and entrepreneurship. This model allows us to identify whether the impact of financial development on entrepreneurship differs depending on the level of institutional quality (good vs. poor). (2)Here, δ is an indicator function that takes a value of 1 when institutional quality is good and 0 otherwise.The institutional quality data is constructed from six sub-indicators extracted from the World Governance Indicators (WGI) dataset: control of corruption, rule of law, quality of regulations, government effectiveness, voice and accountability, and political stability. 

The empirical results confirm the hypothesized relationships. Financial development, measured by various indicators, has a positive and statistically significant impact on entrepreneurship in MENA countries. This finding aligns with existing literature (Dutta & Meierrieks, 2021; Ajide & Ojeyinka, 2022). Importantly, the study reveals a critical role for institutional quality. The positive effect of financial development on entrepreneurship is amplified in countries with strong institutions, particularly those characterized by good governance. Conversely, the impact of financial development is weaker, and statistically insignificant, in countries with weak institutional environments. These findings highlight the conditional nature of the relationship between financial development and entrepreneurship.Discussion and Policy ImplicationsThis study offers valuable insights for policymakers in developing economies, particularly those in the MENA region. The results underscore the importance of a two-pronged approach for fostering a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. First, promoting financial development through initiatives that enhance access to finance, deepen financial markets, and improve the efficiency of the financial sector is crucial. This could involve supporting the development of a diverse range of financial institutions, including venture capital firms, microfinance institutions, and angel investor networks.Second, the study emphasizes the critical role of institutional reforms in maximizing the positive impact of financial development on entrepreneurship. Policymakers should prioritize measures to strengthen governance, combat corruption, uphold the rule of law, and streamline regulations. Additionally, fostering political stability and promoting democratic practices can create a more predictable and secure environment for entrepreneurs.Limitations and Future ResearchThis study offers valuable insights, but it also has limitations that pave the way for future research.Limited Sample: The analysis focuses on 11 MENA countries. Expanding the sample to include a broader range of developing economies could provide a more generalizable understanding of the interplay between financial development, institutional quality, and entrepreneurship.Data Availability: The study relies on existing datasets to measure financial development and institutional quality. Future research could explore alternative or more nuanced measures to capture the complexities of these concepts.Endogeneity: A potential issue of endogeneity exists between financial development and entrepreneurship. Future research could employ advanced econometric techniques to address this potential bias.Future research directions could explore the following:The Role of Specific Financial Instruments: Investigate how different types of financial instruments, such as venture capital, microloans, or angel investments, influence entrepreneurial activity under varying institutional contexts.The Impact of Technological Advancements: Examine how the emergence of Fintech (financial technology) solutions can potentially improve access to finance and foster entrepreneurship in MENA countries, particularly in light of institutional constraints.The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: Explore the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem beyond financial development and institutional quality. This could include investigating the role of social capital, cultural attitudes towards entrepreneurship, and educational systems in fostering entrepreneurial activity. 

In conclusion, this study sheds light on the crucial interplay between financial development, institutional quality, and entrepreneurship in the MENA region. The findings underscore the necessity of a comprehensive approach that simultaneously promotes financial development and strengthens institutional frameworks. By implementing these recommendations, policymakers can create an environment that fosters a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, leading to sustainable economic development and prosperity.

Factors affecting the level of entrepreneurship include the proper functioning of the macroeconomic environment and the improvement of institutional quality. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between institutional quality, the macroeconomic environment and entrepreneurial activities in selected developing and developed countries in the period 2018-2010. To measure the level of entrepreneurial activity, three indicators were used for the total early stage entrepreneurship rate, the rate of emerging entrepreneurship and the rate of new entrepreneurship, and to measure the quality of institutions, competitiveness, economic freedom and the quality index for corporate governance. The research method is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive correlation in terms of data collection. Research data was extracted from the Global Entrepreneurship Observatory (GEM) and the World Development Indicators (WDI) and analyzed using the Generalized Torque (GMM) estimate using the STATA 14 software. The results show that the impact of the intended indicators (per capita output growth, unemployment, inflation, tax rate, and foreign direct investment, access to finance, competitiveness, index of economic freedom and governance index) depends on the type of business and the level of Development of the countries. The results also showed that economic freedom is more positively associated with all types of entrepreneurship in industrialized countries. In addition, the quality of governance and the economic competitiveness of countries are inversely related to entrepreneurship in industrialized countries and positive relationships with developing countries.

Access to finance plays a key role in developing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurial activities. Despite the critical role in economic growth and entrepreneurial activities, access to finance is the main problem. Better access to financial resources for a company's formation or development leads to better allocation of production resources, leading to rapid economic growth. Given the various theories about the factors influencing access to finance, there is still a lack of a systematic view of the factors affecting finance access. It implies that research areas are not yet saturated in this research field. Policymakers, therefore, need to understand the impact of various factors on access to finance for policymakers. This study aims to identify the factors for entrepreneurial activities that affect access to finance. To this end, 139 articles (Persian and English) on the factors affecting access to finance for entrepreneurial activities are reviewed using the systematic review of experimental and theoretical literature. Resources are then grouped into two internal and external factors categories. The results showed that the external factors included bank concentration, financial performance, debt conditions (interest rates, leverage and repayment periods), macroeconomic volatility, corruption, and companies' geography and knowledge asymmetry. Additionally, internal factors include entrepreneurial characteristics (age, gender, education, entrepreneurship and network of experience), company characteristics (life span of the company, size of the company, type of company and property, plant and equipment) and financial management practices of the company (financial information, business plan, and capital budgeting and management of working capital). This study's results enable policymakers to have effective strategies to promote access to business finance and enable entrepreneurs to recognize their strengths and limitations in accessing finance.

In the existing literature on entrepreneurship, there are various approaches to determining the factors affecting entrepreneurial activity, which can be explained in various disciplines of science. As an interdisciplinary study, entrepreneurship consists of aspects of economic, historical, psychological, political, social and cultural studies. All of these studies focus on entrepreneurship from different points of views. Since entrepreneurship is recognized as an appropriate tool for stimulating economic growth, increasing innovation and productivity and reduction of poverty, identification of determinants of entrepreneurial activity allows appropriate policies to increase productivity and economic growth in a single economy. Due to the wide range of factors which affecting entrepreneurial activities among countries, several studies have examined various factors affecting it. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the economic factors affecting entrepreneurial activities at the macro level, which, given the literature available in this field, has a greater impact than other factors. The present study was conducted using descriptive analysis, literature reviews and collecting library resources such as books and theoretical and applied entrepreneurship papers. Finally, the collected resources were classified into two categories of supply and demand factors. The factors on the supply side include economic development, technological development, globalization, direct foreign investment and financial development, and demand factors include education, population growth, population density, income level, income gap, access to finance, Tax, labor market flexibility rules, political structure, immigration, unemployment rate, institutional characteristics and macroeconomic environment.

The main purpose of this article is to examine the impact of access to finance on the process of entrepreneurial activity in 66 selected developing and developed countries over the period 2018–2008. The research method is applied by purpose, and by data collection, is descriptive-correlational; to this end, the research data from international statistical reports based on survey data, economic indicators and entrepreneurship rates of countries They were extracted. The modeling of the research was performed using two criteria of venture capital and bank credit as indicators of access to finance through the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach with STATA14 software. The results indicate a stronger and more positive impact of access to finance on entrepreneurial activities in developing countries. Also, bank lending to boost new and emerging entrepreneurial activity has been more acceptable than venture capital, which could be due to the bank-centric financing of entrepreneurial firms in developing countries. Account. In addition, the positive impact of understanding entrepreneurship capability as an indicator of human capital on access to finance has been another finding of the study. Therefore, policymakers, while trying to develop entrepreneurship, must simultaneously adopt policies to increase entrepreneurial capability and prioritize ease of access to finance.

The main concerns of policy makers in industrialized and developing countries are national competitiveness and how it can be increased. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the quality of entrepreneurial activities and economic competitiveness in the WEF member states using the GMM estimation method. In this study, 75 WEF member countries were classified into three groups of resource-oriented economies, focus efficiency and innovation, in the period 2018-2010 and according to the state of economic development. A country's competitiveness is defined in the Global Competitiveness Index as a dependent variable. Independent variables include two indicators for measuring entrepreneurial quality (innovation and entrepreneurship with high growth expectations), and control variables are a series of six indicators for the entrepreneurial and macro-economic environment. The results show significant differences and some similarities between the countries. For resource-driven countries, factors such as innovation, economic growth, inflation, tax rates and the cost of starting a business are key to competitiveness. In relation to performance-oriented countries, the variables innovation, entrepreneurship with high growth expectations, economic growth, foreign investment, tax rates and trade openness are the determinants of competitiveness and ultimately for innovation countries that focus on determining the determinants of competitiveness: innovation, growth - expected entrepreneurship. High, economic growth, inflation, tax rates, openness to trade and start-up costs. Therefore, policies to improve the competitiveness of the economy vary according to the level of development of the countries.