Zoltan Acs: Chief Economist for US SBA with a Passion for Job Creation
by Jocelyn Rappaport
"Remember, all jobs come from entrepreneurs," says Zoltan Acs, professor of public policy at George Mason University. In May 2010, Acs accepted the appointment as chief economist for the U.S. Small Business Administration (US SBA).
Acs, director of Mason’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, is no stranger to the US SBA. From 1996 to 1998, he served as its chief economic advisor, and in 2008, he wrote with William Parsons and Spencer Tracy, the SBA report, "High-Impact Firms: Gazelles Revisited."
Acs believes job creation is the major item on everyone’s agenda in Washington, D.C., at the moment.
"The US SBA has been a vanguard of job creation in small firms," says Acs. A professor and researcher whose career has focused on the link between innovation and entrepreneurship in industries and cities worldwide, Acs speaks with authority. One of the reasons he accepted the appointment is that he sees it as a responsibility to lend his expertise to help create jobs with the goal of getting 10 million people working.
The US SBA is a federal program, and it administers the many state-run SBA programs. Acs believes one of the ways it assists in job creation is by offering small businesses support in the form of finances, management, training, and education about policies and regulations. Acs suggests that the School of Public Policy’s Mason Enterprise Center (MEC) is a natural model for other states.
"The resources the MEC and its Small Business Development Center provide to new businesses is one of the reasons Virginia is one of the best places to start a business," Acs says.
Acs emphasizes that we can learn much from studying other countries. Gauging entrepreneurial capacity and capabilities of all countries is the subject of his upcoming book, Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index, to be published by Elgar. His research indicates that the United States ranks number three in entrepreneurial capacity and capability. Denmark and Canada rank first and second.
As US SBA chief economist, Acs will be holding a symposium for invited economists and policymakers in October. The symposium will be held in Washington, D.C., and will focus on job creation and high-impact firms.