Entrepreneur Development Opportunities in the New Post-Recession Economy
Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
First published November 2012
Great Recession, Great Reset
In the depths of the Great Recession when hope of recovery seemed bleak we ran across Richard Florida’s 2010 book The Great Reset, How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity. This is the same Richard Florida who has written and lectured across the world about the rise of the creative class.
In the Great Reset Florida explores how America returned to prosperity following the Long Depression of the 1870s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. He argues that out of all the pain and destruction associated with severe economic downturns new opportunity space is created that enables fundamental change and innovation in economic, social and civic arenas. This opportunity space is the green house for new and sustained prosperity.
Florida suggests that the Great Recession is really comparable to a depression in terms of its depth and duration of impact. He argues that when there is a recession we have a recovery or a return to a pre-recession like normal. But with a depression we have a reset when things fundamentally change.
Entrepreneurs – including business, civic and social entrepreneurs, are central to bringing about fundamental change and innovation enabling local, regional and national recovery and longer-term prosperity. This paper explores entrepreneurial talent emerging from the Great Recession.