METRICS AND INDICATORS OF REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY

Abstract

The economic development of the regions in Bulgaria is characterized by growing regional business differences. The transition in a substantive and retrospective plan from an exogenous approach to the development of regions to an endogenous one puts the questions of entrepreneurial activity and its regional determinism in the center of research. In economic and management literature, concepts such as "regional entrepreneurship", "rural entrepreneurship", "entrepreneurial activity" and others have gained wide popularity, which describe entrepreneurial activity from the point of view of the relationship with the characteristics of the region and regional development. Regional entrepreneurial activity as an indicator is used in analyses, comparisons and evaluations of differences in the levels of spread and development of entrepreneurship in individual regions. In its metrication, the following metrics are often used: rank of formation of new companies in a specific region; general index of entrepreneurial activity in the initial phase of the entrepreneurial process; "breadth" and "depth" of regional entrepreneurship (entrepreneurship breadth and depth), characterizing the territorial dispersion and concentration of high-value entrepreneurs for the region, etc. In this regard, the purpose of the report is to reveal the levels of territorial disparities in Bulgaria's entrepreneurial activity through scientifically based and popular metrics for its metrication. Local government measures to overcome regional disparities should be based on objective empirical analyzes and comparable indicators such as the Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA Index); Index of Theil et al. This report clarifies the main characteristics of regional business models, their manifestations and trends, including those based on green investments.