Entrepreneurial Confidence and the Regional Economy

The 'Groningen' school of economic geography, with Professor Tamsma as one of its early exponents, has always stressed the importance of perceptions, images and sentiments in understanding regional socio-economic dynamics. This study follows this tradition and presents new instalments of a long-running analysis (over 40 years) of perceived locational preferences among Dutch entrepreneurs. Despite a drastically changed economy during this period, the locational preferences of Dutch entrepreneurs have remained remarkably stable, with high preferences for the centre of the country that taper off towards the borders. We also re-establish that proximate places are much more attractive to entrepreneurs than those further afield (the neighbourhood effect), though the strength of this effect differs significantly across places. This testifies to the relevance of place-based approaches that take a comprehensive view of regional economic growth.