The spatial determinants of entrepreneurship in the regions of England, 2000-2004

This paper examines the regional determinants of business start-up activity in the UK from 2000 to 2004. Spatial and sectoral variations in Value Added Tax (VAT) registration rates at the local authority district level are identified (with a specific focus on advanced services and manufacturing activities) and regressed against key variables relating to education, skills, income and local industrial structure. The study is unique in that it considers how the determinants of new venture creation vary between NUTS 1 UK regions - an approach that requires the simultaneous consideration of entrepreneurial activity at both the intra- and interregional scale. The main purpose of this multivariate approach is to construct a detailed picture of the structural components of new firm formation within different regions and, crucially, to draw out and elucidate the main implications of the empirical findings for effective strategic regional policy making. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.