The Adult Population Survey (APS)
This is the primary research tool of GEM. Each national team must survey at least 2000 adults in their country using best practice social survey techniques:
- In countries where there is more than 85% coverage by the telephone network, national teams employ professional survey firms to conduct a random survey of the adult population using Random Digit Dialling.
- In countries where telephone coverage is not as wide-spread, telephone surveys are less appropriate so face-to-face interview techniques are also used.
To ensure consistency and cross-country comparability, each country conducts exactly the same survey of its adult population at exactly the same time of the year using the same methodology. The individual surveys are harmonized into one master dataset. The GEM Annual Report is based on the results of the adult population survey each year.
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here for the GEM 2006 Data Assessment
Entrepreneurship is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The GEM survey data document the behaviour and characteristics of nascent entrepreneurs, new entrepreneurs, and established business owners. The degree of innovativeness, competitiveness, and growth expectations of early-stage and established business owners, as well as the existence and characteristics of social environments conducive to entrepreneurship are also documented.
Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity or the TEA index
One of GEM’s best known measures of entrepreneurial activity is the Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity prevalence rate (also called TEA index). This indicator is calculated in an identical way in each country:
- A telephone survey of a representative sample of the adult population in each country is conducted between May and September.
- Respondents are asked to respond to three questions that are the basis of the TEA index: Are you, alone or with others, currently trying to start a new business independently of your work? Are you, alone or with others, currently trying to start a new business as part of your work? Are you, alone or with others, currently the owner or manager of a business?
- Those who respond positively to these questions are also asked filter questions to ensure they are actively engaged in business creation as owners and managers, how long they have been paying wages to employees, and other questions about cost and time to start up, sources of finance and numbers of jobs created. A distinction is made between two types of entrepreneurs: nascent entrepreneurs (those that have been paying salaries for less than three months) and new business owner-managers (those that have been paying salaries for between three and 42 months).
- Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity is the sum of the nascent entrepreneurs and baby business owner/managers minus any double counting (i.e. those who respond positively to both).
The Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity rate is comparable across nations and it measures the propensity of a country to be entrepreneurial.