Fostering Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Shark Tank Shouldn\u27t be the Model

For the past half century, innovation has driven the economic growth that has made the American economy the envy of the world. For most of this period, venture capitalists provided not only the capital that new innovative companies needed, but also the management expertise

Angel Groups: Developing a Regional Economic Development Strategy for Robust Seed Capital Ecosystems for Entrepreneurs

The purpose of this paper is to identify the link between the success of angel organizational structures and the economic footprint within which angel groups operate; ultimately suggesting a novel approach of assisting traditional angel group structures in their operations and entrepreneurs in the process of securing early stage financing. Given the varied angel group structures that exist, some angel portals may be more appropriate for certain regions than others. In-depth field research was developed and analyzed by creating the first undergraduate student-run angel investment fund, to co-invest with investors in the informal venture capital market, in the United States. The research presented in this paper will provide economic planners, educational leaders, and interested students with a potential guideline of how best to organize angel investors within their respective regions, ultimately building local investment capacity that will benefit state economies by creating better financing opportunities for entrepreneurs

PROMOTING PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS

The recently development of the capital market intensified the investors attraction toward profit opportunities. The involvement on the capital market has become a widely used activity among all investors regardless their financial power. This has led to diversifying of the capital market, and also to a specialization and hybridization of the financial instruments traded. Whereas, investment funds are considered intermediaries between investors and investees, they can be promoted in relation with their funding and investment activities involving the investors and certain target companies (also known as portfolio companies or investee companies).In addition to the traditional ways of promoting investment funds (i.e. direct selling, printed publications, advertisements and straplines, public relations actions) can be identified other particular methods in promoting their activity (fund raising, investing and financing) by using business angels and netpreneurs. Therefore, this paper presents the importance of promoting investment funds in relation to all the participants involved.private equity, investmen funds,promoting,business angels,netpreneurs

Employment During the 2001–2003 Recovery

This background paper examines job growth following the 2001 recession. After declining by about 1.6 million jobs during that recession, employment fell by more than an additional million jobs in the first 18 months following the end of the recession. Understanding why employment fell even as output recovered can be useful both in assessing the labor market and in forecasting the path of employment during future recoveries

E-BUSINESS AND GLOBAL SOURCING – INFERENCES FROM SECURITIES EXCHANGES

This paper sets out a conceptual model that describes how the configuration of relevant geographic markets might change as electronic “gateways” or portals challenge conventional markets. It then considers the main conceptual inferences against the experience of securities markets. Consideration of empirical evidence suggests that e-business will lead to expanded geographic markets, although the pace and extent of the expansion might be slower and less dramatic, even in the long- run, than early enthusiasts of e-business may have anticipated.geographic markets, securities markets, e-business

Should Securities Regulation Promote Crowdinvesting?

In this paper, we show that too strong investor protection may harm small firms and entrepreneurial initiatives, which contrasts with the traditional ‘law & finance’ view that stronger investor protection is better. This situation is particularly relevant in crowdinvesting, which refers to a recent financial innovation originating on the Internet and targets small, innovative firms. In many jurisdictions, securities regulation offers exemptions to prospectus and registration requirements. We provide an into-depth discussion of recent regulatory reforms in different countries and discuss how they may impact crowdinvesting. Building on a theoretical framework, we show that optimal regulation depends on the availability of alternative early-stage financing such as venture capital and angel finance. Finally, we offer exploratory portal-level evidence from Germany on the impact of securities regulation on small business finance

Briefing to the incoming Minister of Health 2014

Executive summary This briefing provides you, as the incoming Minister, with information on challenges and opportunities facing the New Zealand health and disability system, and how the Ministry can advise and support you to implement your Government’s priorities for health. The Ministry looks forward to discussing with you how to progress your health policies, including: providing high-quality health services; healthy communities; a strong and engaged health workforce; quality aged care and mental health services. The New Zealand health and disability sector provides world-class services, is driven by a trusted, passionate and skilled workforce, across a spectrum of public, NGOs and private providers, and serves a population that can generally access the care it needs, when it needs it. There are, however, many pressures and environmental changes that require both immediate management and longer-term strategic change. As Minister, you have a number of levers at your disposal to guide system change through setting policy direction, legislation and regulations, funding models and performance management, as well as influencing culture and leadership. Every New Zealander will, at some point in their lives, rely on our health and disability system. It is a large and complex system with multiple decision-makers and mixed public and private ownership models. It operates in a dynamic, continually changing environment characterised by well-known global and local challenges, including:   changing population health needs and burden of disease (especially the rising impact of long- term conditions and risk factors, such as diabetes and obesity)   the growing impact of health-care associated infections, antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases, eg, Ebola   rapid advances in technology, developments in personalised medicine and changing public expectations   an ageing population, and a workforce that is ageing along with the population   a constrained funding environment for the foreseeable future   a growing fiscal sustainability challenge as health consumes an increasing proportion of total government expenditure. These challenges are placing pressure and new demands on the way public health and disability services are currently delivered. Significant gains in the overall health of New Zealanders could be achieved by concentrating on people who have poorer health outcomes, complex health needs or who need a stronger voice. These might include vulnerable children, older people, people with long-term conditions, people with mental health and addiction problems and people with disabilities. Health and disability services need to build on current progress and adapt to future needs. The health system’s ability to provide a sustainable, quality public health service depends on keeping ahead of the challenges. This briefing provides some suggestions for where we could work with you to meet these challenges. There are opportunities to make better use of existing resources, people, facilities and funding, through new ways of delivering services that keep people well with better prevention and early Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Health v intervention. Significant gains could be made by developing a longer-term focus on preventing disability and illness in the first place. There are new opportunities for the health workforce to work in different ways with a broader range of colleagues across the health and wider social sectors, and with partners in the community. To better equip the New Zealand health and disability system for the future, we suggest focusing on four areas. 1  Better integrate services within health and across the social sector: Strengthening integration within health and across government to support the most vulnerable, reduce inequities and address issues outside the health and disability system that impact on health. 2  Improve the way services are purchased and provided: Ensuring funding models support change, building and supporting the key enablers and drivers of change: workforce, health information and capital. 3  Lift quality and performance: Driving performance through measuring and rewarding the right things to improve quality. 4  Support leadership and capability for change: Supporting strong governance, clinical and executive leadership and capability across the health sector.&nbsp

What Green Economy? Diverse agendas, their tensions and potential futures

The 'green economy' has become a prominent global concept for debating desirable futures, while recasting or marginalising ‘sustainable development’. The dominant agenda promotes state incentives for private-sector solutions through two parallel approaches: A techno-environmental Keynesian agenda attempts to stimulate eco-innovation which can become more resource-efficient and economically competitive. And a green markets agenda seeks to make natural resources more economically visible, as a basis to alleviate poverty. Like sustainable development, green economy agendas claim to redress the socially unequal access to natural resources. These claims have been widely questioned, thus generating extra remedial proposals, opposition and alternative frameworks. The debate features diverse agendas for co-constructing ‘green’ with ‘economy’, especially for assigning economic value to natural resources or environmental burdens. Struggles over potential futures take the form of disputes over defining, allocating and valuing resources – i.e. what counts for a ‘green economy’