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Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Why Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed--and What to Do about It (The Kauffman ... on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 11) Hardcover – October 18, 2009

by Josh Lerner (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 38 ratings
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How governments can do a better job of supporting entrepreneurship and venture capital

Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tel Aviv―the global hubs of entrepreneurial activity―all bear the marks of government investment. Yet, for every public intervention that spurs entrepreneurial activity, there are many failed efforts that waste untold billions in taxpayer dollars. When has governmental sponsorship succeeded in boosting growth, and when has it fallen terribly short? Should the government be involved in such undertakings at all? Boulevard of Broken Dreams is the first extensive look at the ways governments have supported entrepreneurs and venture capitalists across decades and continents. Josh Lerner, one of the foremost experts in the field, provides valuable insights into why some public initiatives work while others are hobbled by pitfalls, and he offers suggestions for how public ventures should be implemented in the future.

Discussing the complex history of Silicon Valley and other pioneering centers of venture capital, Lerner uncovers the extent of government influence in prompting growth. He examines the public strategies used to advance new ventures, points to the challenges of these endeavors, and reveals the common flaws undermining far too many programs―poor design, a lack of understanding for the entrepreneurial process, and implementation problems. Lerner explains why governments cannot dictate how venture markets evolve, and why they must balance their positions as catalysts with an awareness of their limited ability to stimulate the entrepreneurial sector.

As governments worldwide seek to spur economic growth in ever more aggressive ways, Boulevard of Broken Dreams offers an important caution. The book argues for a careful approach to government support of entrepreneurial activities, so that the mistakes of earlier efforts are not repeated.

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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    The Kauffman Foundation Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  2. Print length
    240 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  5. Publication date
    October 18, 2009
  6. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    069114219X
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0691142197
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Winner of the 2009 PROSE Award in Business, Finance & Management, Association of American Publishers"

"Co-Winner of the 2010 Gold Medal Book Award in Entrepreneurship, Axiom Business"

"[S]uperb."---Edward L. Glaeser, New York Times'

"Lots of governments would like to promote high-tech entrepreneurship and venture capital in their regions--but many don't know how to do it effectively. In his new book Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Josh Lerner . . . examines which types of policies to promote entrepreneurship and venture capital tend to work--and which don't. Lerner supports his carefully researched analysis with numerous examples chosen from around the globe." ― MIT Sloan Management Review

"Can governments spark start-up activity and job creation by getting into the venture capital business? Or do they just waste taxpayer money whenever they try? Those are the two questions that animate the new book from Harvard Business prof Josh Lerner, Boulevard of Broken Dreams. . . . [W]hile the stories of failures are entertaining, what's most useful about Boulevard are the examples of governments that have gotten it right. . . . [A] really readable collection of data, anecdotes, and thoughtful arguments."---Scott Kirsner, Boston Globe

"Today, calls for more innovation and entrepreneurship are more fashionable than ever, especially within government, where politicians and bureaucrats wastefully attempt to manufacture, via policy and subsidies, fresh batches of master agents and adventurers. But can government policy trigger entrepreneurship and subsequent growth? The title of a new book suggests not, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, by Harvard professor Josh Lerner. Much of Broken Dreams is a first-rate handbook for policy makers keen to avoid interventions that have proven track records as disasters. Lerner produces example after example of bad program design, bad implementation and plain dumb, even corrupt, policy making."---Terence Corcoran, National Post

"Mr. Lerner provides more than a dozen rules of thumb for effective government intervention in the private sector."---Harry Hurt III, New York Times

"[A] useful book."---David Brooks, New York Times

"During economic turmoil, many look to the government to boost the economy by investing in entrepreneurship. But is that a good idea? Josh Lerner wrestles with that question in Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which considers the history of the public sector's involvement in entrepreneurship and venture capitalism--what's worked, from Silicon Valley to Singapore, and what's gone horribly awry. . . This book aims to steer policymakers in the right direction." ― BizEd Magazine

"The book is instructive, well researched and contains some wise lessons from the past in terms of the government's role in promoting entrepreneurship and growth businesses. . . . [T]ake note, politicians and mandarins: this book can provide much-needed advice and perhaps a shortcut to developing more effective policies. . . . [R]ecommended reading to any local economic development practitioner who takes an interest in the big policy questions of today, and [it has] direct relevance to local economic development."---Glenn Athey, Local Economy

Review

"This important, well-reasoned book reminds us in times of financial crisis that it is innovation and technical change in the real economy that is ultimately responsible for our prosperity―and that, alas, there are no silver bullets or simple policies to advance the process. Provocative, interesting, and useful."―Amar Bhidé, author of The Venturesome Economy

"Boulevard of Broken Dreams shows a deep understanding of the role of government in boosting entrepreneurship."―Sir Ronald Cohen, chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures, and cofounder and former chairman of Apax Partners

"Boulevard of Broken Dreams is destined to be regarded as the classic study about how governments can succeed or fail in attempting to produce successful entrepreneurial environments and programs. All policymakers interested in achieving success―and avoiding failure―in encouraging entrepreneurial activity need to study and master the lessons described so eloquently by Josh Lerner."―David M. Rubenstein, cofounder and managing director of The Carlyle Group

"Innovation and entrepreneurship are incredibly important engines for economic growth. As governments around the world try to restart this engine in the wake of the global crisis, they will find this book to be an ideal guide."―Ken Wilcox, CEO of Silicon Valley Bank

"Such a cogent, well-reasoned explanation of the role of government policy―for good and ill―is long overdue. I hope that all audiences, whether policymakers, entrepreneurs, educators, or voters, will read and heed its advice."―Richard Kramlich, cofounder and general partner of New Enterprise Associates

"In this valuable and well-thought-out book, Lerner supports his astute observations with a wealth of clear models drawn from throughout the world. He provides striking examples in which governmental efforts to encourage entrepreneurial activity have been effective, along with other instances in which such efforts have fallen on their face and incurred high costs to society."―William J. Baumol, author of The Free-Market Innovation Machine

"This important and timely book will impact the ways policymakers think about venture capital and how to support it more effectively. The book is deeply rooted in economic research, leaves ideology behind, and focuses on facts. It explains complex economic analysis in simple terms and provides many useful examples to illustrate fundamental issues."―Thomas F. Hellmann, University of British Columbia

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press (October 18, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 069114219X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691142197
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.12 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 38 ratings

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Joshua Lerner

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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
38 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

fitzalling
5.0 out of 5 stars Singapore got it right - ,many others, not so much
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
This book was recommended to me by the head of an organization focused on research parks and innovation districts. Occasionally, my work takes me into these types of developments..So, reading the book seemed worthwhile. Obviously, given my rating, I found the book valuable.

There's a 2012 Battelle Report on research parks that estimated a total of around 174 research parks and innovation districts in North America. (Research parks generally are in suburbia and innovation districts are in urban settings. Generally they are focused on research, innovation and economic development, but so so in different locales. In any event, these efforts to encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development have been widely undertaken.

You can google "Association of University Research Parks" or AURP to find a website on university efforts to encourage innovation and create local versions of Silicon Valley. Most of these university efforts have involved at least some public governmental support. Many of these efforts seek to find their footing as they are financially quite small. Thus, Professor Lerner's review of these undertakings has broader application than many of the book's readers might expect.

I agree with one of the other reviewers that Chapters 6 and 7, and I'd include chapters 5 and 9 as well, contain the heart of the book. Professor Lerner has looked at these undertakings all over the globe and has dived deeply into the academic research in this area. He argues that mere groundbreakings with appropriate political photo ops are most likely to fail as it's necessary to build a innovation ecosystem, which requires a long-term political and financial commitment, for success. Examples of what has worked and what hasn't worked will engage the reader. Stories of what hasn't worked abound. If you're with a university, city, state or other political body thinking of encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship as a economic development tool, read the book. The professor gives advice on what to do to improve the likelihood that money spent has a better chance of being well spent. Mainly, realize that success takes time, a long time.

Thus, the book speaks to those who, most commonly, are advising political bodies that are thinking of building research parks or innovation districts for economic development. If you find yourself in this arena, I recommend the book highly.
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CapitalFlak
3.0 out of 5 stars CapitalFlak
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2009
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"How can we become more like the Silicon Valley?" Policy makers and civic-minded entrepreneurs across the world spend countless hours on the question and taxpayers spend billions billions on resulting projects. This book documents the record of failure for most of those efforts and provides a fundamental lesson that caution and skepticism should permeate any discussion about them. But those who look to this book for more -- for concrete guidance about what will work -- will find, unfortunately, another broken dream.

Harvard Business School professor Josh Lerner starts with a warning: "For each effective government intervention, there have been dozens, even hundreds, of failures, where substantial public expenditure bore no fruit." Lerner proceeds with a narrative of failures and successes from around the world. Malaysia, France, Norway, Iowa, New York City and others each had failed initiatives either small or large that Lerner describes. Singapore, Tel Aviv and Silicon Valley itself were his notable successes. It is in this narrative where the primary value of the book resides simply because there is no prior, book-length attempt to gather facts on these initiatives and their results.

But Lerner strikes out in his attempt to connect the dots to draw conclusions for the book's subtitle, "what to do about it." Most of his prescriptions are too vague to be useful and often not clearly supported by the stories in the narrative. A few examples: "Avoid initiatives too large or too small." The Singapore success that he describes was a massive, multifaceted collection of programs that largely transformed the entire city state, too large to pass his own test. "Leverage the local academic and scientific research base." Sounds like a line from a bad business plan, and doing so is its own book-length story of broken dreams. "Remember that entrepreneurial activity does not exist in a vacuum." Swell. "Let the market provide guidance" when designing any program. Seems pretty obvious. On the other hand, given that many elected officials seem to need remedial level economics, perhaps prescriptions this simple are good.

Readers will be confused about whether Lerner believes that any government efforts in this field are ever worthwhile, or instead are subject to too high a failure rate to justify their cost. On this he contradicts himself. He says on the one hand that the failures had predictable, consistent elements that can be avoided, but elsewhere says there is no "unified field theory" to guide governments and that the "case for public intervention" rests on the shaky assumption that governments can effectively promote venture capital and entrepreneurship.

My own view is that the dots do not connect well and that there is no "unified field theory." Occasional opportunities arise for government to act that are time and location specific, which account for many of the success stories. For example, a public/private effort landed a major international research consortium, MCC, in Austin and clearly put that city on the tech map, but that was a one-time shot. My list of programs to promote entrepreneurship worthy of taxpayer money would be pretty short. Most would come under what Lerner calls "setting the table properly" -- things like good airports, roads and schools, and an efficient legal system with courts that understand business.

Lerner says that government spending, particularly defense spending, plays a huge role in spawning tech communities, with Silicon Valley being the leading example, and he is certainly right on this. But that's a different story about private companies landing government contracts, not the result of any overt policy plan. Lerner details how many of Silicon Valley's largest companies got fat on government contracts and fed the tech ecosystem that grew around them. But he does not describe any state or local economic development plan that helped land those contracts and, to my knowledge, there was none. Behind-the-scenes Federal lobbying by state and local governments is no doubt a potent factor in where Federal dollars get spent, but lobbying is not the sort of public program that Lerner is addressing in this book.

Lerner devotes his last chapter to sovereign wealth funds. Not much relevance here for Americans, unfortunately. The topic is a reminder, however, that the real money -- the massive war chests available to some governments for their economic development -- ultimately derive from American trade and current account deficits. Until the U.S. eliminates those deficits, extraordinary wealth will transfer from here to surplus countries.

Even with these drawbacks, the book still has to be labeled a must-read for folks interested in the subject because it's the only-read on point so far. Its basic tone of skepticism about the efficacy of government sponsored efforts in this field is surely appropriate, despite Lerner's ambiguity on that.

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31 people found this helpful
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Thomas Morrow
5.0 out of 5 stars Vice President, SEMI
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2010
Verified Purchase
This is outstanding contribution to the critical and current debates on how best to spur economic growth with public money. Virtually every developed country in the world wants to attract and nurture high tech industries that support well-paying jobs. Unfortunately in the US and elsewhere, public monies are overwhelmingly directed at 19th century industries like agriculture and banking. This book makes the authoritative argument that "virtually every hub of cutting edge entrepreneurial activity in the world today had its origins in proactive government intervention." Policy makers in China, Brussels, Seoul, Dubai, and elsewhere will be reading this book and adopting its recommendations. Can the same be said for the US? Let's deeply hope so.
2 people found this helpful
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Brad Feld
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid analysis with some positive prescriptive ideas
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2012
Verified Purchase
The subtitle summarizes the book nicely - Why Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed-and What to Do About It. As I continue to grind through writing Startup Communities: How To Create An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your City, I'm trying to maintain a steady diet of complementary books. Lerner does a good job of dissecting government efforts and involvement around the stimulation of entrepreneurship and does a thorough job. This is a negative leaning book, but there is some positive and constructive stuff in it.
7 people found this helpful
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