An interesting juxtaposition of factoids. Barriers to Entrepreneurship Stymie EU Economies by Julie Ray reports on results of a Gallup poll indicating how most Europeans believe their governments make it difficult to start new businesses. What in particular caught my eye was that business owners are seen as good role models for youth. A majority held this view in all the major economies including the UK (83%), Germany (71%) and even France (66%).
This serves as interesting counterpoint to something I saw the other day, The Geography of Fame by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz. Stephens-Davidowitz uses Wikipedia entries as a proxy for fame and then comes up with a number of intriguing observations. I am skeptical about the validity of this approach, but it is fun to speculate on the numbers none-the-less. The two fields of endeavor which I hold in the highest regard provide only a relative handful of Wikipedia entries; Science and Academics (3%) and Business (2%). Arts, Entertainment and Sport are together responsible for 59% of all citations. If Wikipedia is a form of revealed preference, then we vastly underrate discoverers and producers and instead value our consumption and entertainment. I'd be sad save for my suspicion that Wikipedia is not a good proxy for regard.
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