Although the entrepreneur has
long been a central figure in economist’s accounts of how the market system
functions, there has been surprisingly little systematic analysis of
entrepreneurship (Baumol, 1993).14 As Baumol (1993, p. 2) notes:
The entrepreneur is at once one
of the most intriguing and one of the most elusive in the cast of characters
that constitutes the subject of economic analysis. Long recognized as the apex
of hierarchy that determines the evolving behavior of the firm, the
entrepreneur is thereby assigned a heavy responsibility for the vitality of the
free-enterprise society. In the writings of classical economists, the
appearance of this important figure was frequent, but shadowy, without clearly
defined form and function. In the literature of formal theory, at least until
very recently, only Joseph Schumpeter and, to some degree, Frank Knight
succeeded in infusing this character with life and assigning to him or her a specific
area of activity to any extent commensurate with his acknowledged importance.
But to do so, they were forced to sacrifice analytic tractability and even
substantive mathematical representation. In more recent years, although
economic events continue to underscore the significance of his role, the
entrepreneur has nonetheless virtually disappeared from the theoretical
literature.
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