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Rättsstatens betydelse för entreprenörskap: En Panelstudie av låg- och lägre medelinkomstländer

Dahlin, David LU and Danielsson, Maria (2026) NEKH02 20252
Department of Economics
Abstract
Weak institutions and crime represent central obstacles to economic growth in many low- and lower-middle-income countries. At the same time, entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in economic growth, welfare and employment, while being particularly sensitive to a lack of legal certainty. The aim of this study is to analyze how crime and institutional quality affect entrepreneurship in low- and lower-middle-income countries, with a particular focus on the connection between crime, the Rule of Law and entrepreneurship.

The study is conducted using a quantitative panel data regression based on 64 low- and lower-middle-income countries over the period 2006–2022. Entrepreneurship is measured by New Business Density, while crime and... (More)
Weak institutions and crime represent central obstacles to economic growth in many low- and lower-middle-income countries. At the same time, entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in economic growth, welfare and employment, while being particularly sensitive to a lack of legal certainty. The aim of this study is to analyze how crime and institutional quality affect entrepreneurship in low- and lower-middle-income countries, with a particular focus on the connection between crime, the Rule of Law and entrepreneurship.

The study is conducted using a quantitative panel data regression based on 64 low- and lower-middle-income countries over the period 2006–2022. Entrepreneurship is measured by New Business Density, while crime and institutional quality are measured by intentional homicides, the prison population, and the Rule of Law indicator. The regression is estimated using a fixed-effects model and robust standard errors.

The results show a clear, statistically significant positive relationship between New Business Density and Rule of Law, indicating that improvements in the quality of the Rule of Law are associated with increased entrepreneurial activity. On the contrary, no statistically significant relationship between homicides and entrepreneurship was found, while the prison population measure exhibits a weak negative relation. Overall, the results indicate that institutional quality constitutes a more robust explanatory variable for entrepreneurship that direct measures of crime from a global panel perspective. (Less)
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author
Dahlin, David LU and Danielsson, Maria
supervisor
organization
course
NEKH02 20252
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Entrepreneurship, institutional quality, crime, economic growth, low- and lower-middle-income countries
language
Swedish
id
9219551
date added to LUP
2026-02-04 08:21:42
date last changed
2026-02-04 08:21:42
@misc{9219551,
  abstract     = {{Weak institutions and crime represent central obstacles to economic growth in many low- and lower-middle-income countries. At the same time, entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in economic growth, welfare and employment, while being particularly sensitive to a lack of legal certainty. The aim of this study is to analyze how crime and institutional quality affect entrepreneurship in low- and lower-middle-income countries, with a particular focus on the connection between crime, the Rule of Law and entrepreneurship. 

The study is conducted using a quantitative panel data regression based on 64 low- and lower-middle-income countries over the period 2006–2022. Entrepreneurship is measured by New Business Density, while crime and institutional quality are measured by intentional homicides, the prison population, and the Rule of Law indicator. The regression is estimated using a fixed-effects model and robust standard errors. 

The results show a clear, statistically significant positive relationship between New Business Density and Rule of Law, indicating that improvements in the quality of the Rule of Law are associated with increased entrepreneurial activity. On the contrary, no statistically significant relationship between homicides and entrepreneurship was found, while the prison population measure exhibits a weak negative relation. Overall, the results indicate that institutional quality constitutes a more robust explanatory variable for entrepreneurship that direct measures of crime from a global panel perspective.}},
  author       = {{Dahlin, David and Danielsson, Maria}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Rättsstatens betydelse för entreprenörskap: En Panelstudie av låg- och lägre medelinkomstländer}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}