development report 2012 - UMAR

120 Development Report 2012
Indicators of Slovenia’s development
Entrepreneurial
activity
Entrepreneurial activity in Slovenia also dropped
notably in 2011, while in the EU it was already
strengthening considerably. According to the Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), in 2011, the rate
of the total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA
index) 1 dropped in Slovenia for the third successive
year. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, it has
already declined by as much as two fifths, from 6.4%
in 2008 to 3.7% in 2011, which is the lowest level since
2004 (2.6%). The drop was mainly due to a significant
decline in the share of new entrepreneurs, i.e. those
who have been paying wages or salaries for no longer
than 3.5 years (during the crisis by 0.6 p.p,). The share of
nascent entrepreneurs, i.e. individuals actively trying
to start a business or owning and running a business
that has operated for no more than three months,
also shrank, by 0.3 p.p. (during the crisis by 2.2 p.p.).
The overall entrepreneurial activity rate therefore
declined further last year, by 1.1 p.p., to a great
extent precisely because of the decline in early-stage
entrepreneurial activity, as the share of established
entrepreneurs remained approximately the same as
in 2010. In the 20 EU Member States that participated
in the GEM project, 2 the average total early-stage
entrepreneurial activity rate had already picked up
substantially in 2011, totalling 6.9% (2010: 4.8%).
The gap between Slovenia and the EU average thus
widened markedly, by 3.2 p.p., being the largest thus
far. 3 In the EU, the share of entrepreneurs who have
operated a business independently for no more than
three months strengthened significantly (to 4.3% or
nearly by 60%), while the share of new entrepreneurs
rose somewhat less (to 2.7% or by a fifth). The overall
entrepreneurial activity has also already increased in
the EU, to 12.8% on average, on account of both total
early-stage entrepreneurial activity and a higher share
of established entrepreneurs (by a good tenth).
The decline in early-stage entrepreneurial activity is
still characterised particularly by a lack of business
opportunities. In 2011, the share of entrepreneurs
engaged in early-stage entrepreneurial activity to
exploit perceived business opportunities plunged
to 3.0%, the lowest level since 2004 (2.2%). It shrank
further relative to the preceding year, by 0.7 p.p. (by
1
For methodological explanation of measures of entrepreneurial
activity see notes below the Table.
2
In 2011, 20 Member States were included in the GEM project
(the same as in 2010 except Italy, plus the Czech Republic,
Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia); in 2010, 17 Member States.
3
In 2008 and 2009, Slovenia’s TEA-index exceeded the EU
average by 1.1 p.p. and 0.4 p.p., respectively.
2.6 p.p. since the beginning of the economic crisis).
Perceived business opportunities nevertheless
remain the main driving force behind the decisions
to start an independent business, as was the case in
favourable economic times, given that the share of
necessity-driven early stage entrepreneurship still
lags significantly behind the share of opportunity
entrepreneurship (see Table). The share of necessity
entrepreneurship shrank visibly 4 last year and was only
slightly lower than in the period of good economic
conditions (2005–2008). In the 20 EU Member States
included in the survey, the average rate of early-stage
entrepreneurial activity driven by perceived business
opportunities strengthened substantially last year, by
1.4 p.p. to 5.0%, while the rate of necessity early-stage
entrepreneurial activity rate grew much less, by 0.7
p.p. to 1.7%. Among EU Member States, opportunity
entrepreneurial activity declined only in Slovenia
and Hungary (to 4.1%), while strengthening most
notably in Portugal and Romania (to 6.0% and 5.7%,
respectively).
The barriers to doing business in Slovenia did not
change much in 2011 and the payment default
risk remains the major limiting factor. According
to Interstat 5 data, at the end of 2011 by far the
largest share of entrepreneurs surveyed (60.5%) 6
reported payment default risk as the most serious
obstacle to business operation. Troubles related to
excessive administrative burden and tax policy eased
somewhat towards the end of last year, but they are
still recognised as an important impeding factor (cited
by around 30% of entrepreneurs). On the other hand,
issues related to competitiveness and access to funds
for current operations, and a consequent decline in
sales (perceived by around a fifth of entrepreneurs;
in August 2011, by only a tenth) started to worsen
towards the end of the year.
4
The decline in necessity entrepreneurship could be partly
explained by a lower number of beneficiaries of selfemployment
subsidies in 2011 (4,502; in 2010: 5,148). The
interest in participating in this measure that was carried out by
the Employment Service of the RS was high in 2011, but funding
was limited. The Employment Service therefore stopped
referring people to self-employment training programmes
temporarily at the end of 2011 (Employment Service of the RS,
2011).
5
Interstat conducted a business climate survey in Slovenia
last year, in August and December; before that, in June and
December (Interstat, 2012).
6
The peak was recorded at the end of 2009 (74.6%).