http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-mishory/how-young-adults-can-jump_b_864511.html

This is an interesting article on the overlap of necessity entrepreneurship and the hot topic, quintessentially American problem of unemployed 20-somethings.  While young entrepreneurs could spark much-needed American economic growth, I wonder what effects our generation might have if we can/do oversaturate the market.  And how government and infrastructure can influence or drive youth entrepreneurship.  The end of the article also poses a few useful questions for considering the issue through a legal and policy perspective.

http://www.bridgeinternationalacademies.com/
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/11/12/243730652/do-for-profit-schools-give-poor-kenyans-a-real-choice

I think this is a very interesting concept. I think this could be a future template on how more good can be done. Like the video showed last week NGOs and government aid do not always get the job done, partially because they are not stakeholders. The concept of social entrepreneurs could change everything. this is a for profit company that operates schools in Kenya. They have made some good progress and appear to be doing well. The NPR criticizes the fact that they are for profit however I think you wouldn’t get the same level of resources in a non-profit.

An interesting blog post concerning two small business owners in Somalia.

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2013/12/19/entrepreneurs-somalia/

Interesting how after we discussed that you can educate young people differently in terms of those that “can’t do math” there are also programs directly linked to entrepreneurship for middle and high school students.

http://www.yeausa.org/introduction.php

Interesting to see there that not only is entrepreneurship from a business standpoint sharing a role within the development of countries, but there is also social entrepreneurship shaping countries that are developing.

http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Articles/Social-entrepreneurship-in-developing-countries

http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/five-myths-about-entrepreneurship/33502/

I thought this was an interesting read. It is from a contributor to Forbes who is the chair of the Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Fostering Entrepreneurship. The Article is also from a blog about doing business in Africa. I think the point they are trying to make is that people see how entrepreneurs grow jobs in the United States and try to emulate them to other economies and areas of the world and that doesn’t always work. There needs to be the proper setup for them to act like they do in the U.S. I think the comment on how there needs to be a focus on scaling and growing businesses instead of just helping people start them is also very interesting.

This is an interesting (but long) article discussing the effects and impact of entrepreneurship programs in higher education.  This particular study focuses on programs in Europe, but the results could be useful to U.S. institutions, as well.  The results showed that entrepreneurship education makes a difference. Those who went through entrepreneurial programs and activities displayed more entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions, got a job sooner after finishing their studies, could innovate more even as employees in a firm, and started more companies on their own.

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promoting-entrepreneurship/files/education/effects_impact_high_edu_final_report_en.pdf

In my experience, heightened confidence or overconfidence has typically been viewed as a mostly positive attribute of an entrepreneur with the theory being that they are more inclined to take an initial risk.  I read an interesting statistic in my ADR book that has a different perspective. The passage points out that “overconfidence leads us to discount small probabilities, assume luck runs in our favor, and distort unattractive consequences…. Over 80% of interviewed entrepreneurs described their chances of success as 70% or better, and 33% described them as ‘certain.’ This compares to a five-year survival rate for new firms around 33%.” The book goes on to highlight the fact that this type of confidence prevents us from seeing the “range of potential outcomes.” The moral of the story is that while entrepreneurs exuding confidence may help them take the initial leap, it can impede actual success,  because one is not prepared to handle/adapt to different hurdles and outcomes.

Menkel-Meadow, Love, Schneider, and Sternlight. Dispute Resolution, Beyond the Adversarial Model. 2nd. New York: Aspen Publishers, 2011. 178. Print.

http://www.economist.com/node/13216087

Analyzing Schumpter’s theory of creative destruction and how policymakers can utilize the insights from this theory in drafting future legislation.