In a Search for Contemporary Growth Drivers: Does Public Healthcare Entrepreneurship Affect Economic Output?

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has been long recognized as an essential driver of economic growth, arguing that it increases innovation, firm formation, employment, and overall GDP. Despite the increasing research on both public entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in health, these different research areas have not been combined that much. To fill this research gap, this paper analyses whether public health entrepreneurship influences economic growth. This study exploits the WHO Global Health Observatory database approximating various dimensions of entrepreneurship by specific aspects of international healthcare regulation implementation. The study uses data from 170 countries from 2010 to 2019. Using the fixed effect panel setting, it tests whether improvements in public healthcare entrepreneurship affect a country's growth. The results suggested that higher entrepreneurial orientation in public healthcare is associated with increased growth. In particular, innovativeness stands out with the size of the effect. The findings from this paper produce several implications. First, bridging the two complements the existing public and healthcare entrepreneurship literature. It further provides empirical quantitative evidence of the importance of intrapreneurship and public sector intrapreneurship. Moreover, this study is among the first to connect IHR to the macroeconomic outcomes of a country. Finally, given the statistical and economic significance of the results, these findings motivate policymakers to consider developing policies that would encourage entrepreneurial orientation within public healthcare.