Michael Fritsch


Michael Fritsch is professor of Economics at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany. He is also an Associate Editor of the academic journal Small Business Economics.

Career

Michael Fritsch studied economics at Technische Universität Berlin and finished his exam as Diplom-Volkswirt in 1977. He was a research associate and a senior research fellow at the Institute of Economics of Technische Universität Berlin where he finished his Ph.D. in 1982 and received his Habilitation for Economics in 1989.
From 1990 to 1992 Michael Fritsch acted as Interim Chair of Economic Policy at Technische Universität Berlin. In 1992 he became Full Professor of Economics and Chair of Economic Policy at the School of Economics and Business Administration of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. Since 2006 Prof. Fritsch has been Chair of Business Dynamics, Innovation, and Economic Change at the School of Economics and Business Administration of Friedrich Schiller University of Jena.

Research

The main fields of research of Michael Fritsch are entrepreneurship and innovation. His research on entrepreneurship has focused on the determinants of new business formation and on the effect of new businesses on economic development. In the field of innovation he has analyzed cooperative relationships and the division of innovative labor. A particular interest was on the role of universities in regional innovation systems.
Further research of Michael Fritsch deals with the contribution of creativity, particularly artistic activity, to economic development. He has also worked on the efficiency of markets and the causes for market failure.
Recent research by Michael Fritsch is focussing on the role of knowledge, entrepreneurship, and cultural factors in long-term regional development trajectories.

Publications

Michael Fritsch is the author of more than 18 books and comprehensive studies. He has published more than 150 articles in scholarly journals and has made about 160 contributions to edited volumes. He was an editor of more than 25 books and special issues of academic journals. His textbook „Marktversagen und Wirtschaftspolitik – Mikroökonomische Grundlagen staatlichen Handelns“ is currently available in the 10th edition. His textbook Entrepreneurship - Thorie, Empirie, Politik with Matthias Menter and Michael Wyrwich is in the 4th edition.
Books :
  • Entrepreneurship – Theorie, Empirie, Politik . Forth revised edition, Berlin/Heidelberg 2024: Springer . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-44742-7
  • "Leapfrogging and Plunging in Regional Entrepreneurship Performance in the United States, with European Comparisons". Paris 2023: OECD publishing.. https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/bc031b11-en
  • The Geography of Entrepreneurial Psychology. Cheltenham 2021: Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788973380
  • Regional Trajectories of Entrepreneurship, Knowledge, and Growth - The Role of History and Culture. Cham 2019: Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-97782-9
  • Marktversagen und Wirtschaftspolitik: Mikroökonomische Grundlagen staatlichen Handelns . 10th revised and complemented edition, Munich 2018: Franz Vahlen.
Journal articles :
  • Is innovation concentrated in large cities? An international comparison. Research Policy, 50, 104237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104237
  • The Effect of Entrepreneurship for Economic Development—An empirical analysis using regional entrepreneurship culture. Journal of Economic Geography, 17, 157-189. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbv049
  • The Long Persistence of Regional Levels of Entrepreneurship: Germany 1925 to 2005. Regional Studies, 48, 955-973. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2013.816414
  • The Phantom of the Opera: Cultural Amenities, Human Capital, and Regional Economic Growth. Labour Economics, 18, 755-766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2011.06.004
  • Effects of new business formation on regional development over time. Regional Studies, 38, 961-975. https://doi.org/10.1080/0034340042000280965
Edited books and special issues of academic journals :
  • Ökonomische Geographie . 2nd completely revised edition, Munich 2020: Vahlen.
  • Special Issue “Entrepreneurship in a Regional Context”, Regional Studies, Vol. 48, No. 6.
  • Special Issue “The Effects of New Businesses on Economic Development”, Small Business Economics, Vol. 30, No. 1.
  • Entrepreneurship in the region, New York 2006: Springer.
  • Special Issue “Regionalization of Innovation Policy”, Research Policy, Vol. 34, No. 8.
For the complete list of publications see the personal website of Michael Fritsch https://m-fritsch.de/publications/