Welcome to the Enterprise Initiative
The Enterprise Initiative is a research program that supports rigorous methods to examine the complex process of wealth creation and the role of enterprise in alleviating poverty. The Initiative, funded by a $3.3 million grant, explores entrepreneurship in developing economies through the lens of Applied General Equilibrium Enterprise Economics (AGE-3). Using analytic economic modeling, researchers closely study human entrepreneurial talent and the attitudes that contribute to economic success, not only at the individual level but also at the village, regional and national levels. This collaborative research initiative leverages NICHD and NSF funding for data collection and brings together researchers and faculty from a variety of subfields at the University of Chicago in the Department of Economics and the Computation Institute, the Poverty Action Lab at MIT and the Economic Growth Center at Yale University.
Recent News
New Documentary Explores Small Enterprise in Thailand
Told through the stories of entrepreneurs, this short film focuses on the Initiative’s research findings about how the process of economic growth is happening on the ground.
 
Featured Publications
Households as Corporate Firms
This investigation proposes a conceptual framework for measurement necessary for an analysis of household finance and economic development.
The Rich Complexity of Village Life
A Thai village study finds wide variation in risk attitudes, suggesting that policy to smooth economic volatility may need to be nuanced.
 
Sources of TFP Growth – Occupational Choice and Financial Deepening
An innovative method of growth accounting is developed by Townsend and Jeong to explain the sources of growth in Thailand.
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Current Discussion
Understanding Determinants of Occupational Choice: Wealth or Talent?