Regional Public Policy Fostering Entrepreneurship Through the Educational System: Evidence from the Autonomous Community of Extremadura in Spain

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the relationship between entrepreneurship, education and regional public policy. First, a theoretical background is developed to approach the idea of regional public policy fostering entrepreneurship through the educational system in developed countries. The Spanish case-study of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura was analyzed to show how the culture of entrepreneurship was integrated in the formal educational system. The chapter concludes with reflections and ideas for the near future. Concretely we present the Observatory of Entrepreneurship Culture, a new tool for analyzing the current programs, to learn from the different experiences and to improve the actions in the next editions. The Observatory will also serve for disseminating the results obtained in society in order to foster the culture of entrepreneurship at the regional level.