Resilience Is the New Competitive

In this chapter, I argue that the COVID pandemic brings home the message that economies need to be prepared for shocks. But preparing for shocks is not the same as preparing for the last shock. Instead, it means we also need to prepare for unknown unknowns. I then argue that the transition to an entrepreneurial society is a no-regret strategy to do so. Entrepreneurs, defined here as people willing and able to challenge the status quo, deal with the unexpected daily. The same skills, talent, resources, and institutions that make them successful in doing so also help us handle a rapidly changing status quo. I then argue that traditional entrepreneurship policies will not suffice. Instead, institutions need to be reformed to ensure challengers of the status quo gain and maintain access to resources such as capital, labor, and knowledge. I conclude the chapter by briefly outlining three such reforms that would help build a more resilient, entrepreneurial economy.