the global entrepreneurship monitor (gem) research program was designed to comprehensively assess the role of entrepreneurship in national economic growth. the conceptual model included various factors influencing national variations in entrepreneurial activity and major contextual features. empirical tests of the model required four major data collection activities: adult population surveys, unstructured interviews with national experts, self-administered questionnaires by national experts, and assembly of standardized measures from existing cross-national datasets. adult population surveys identified entrepreneurially active individuals, requiring precise criteria and careful processing to ensure harmonized counts and prevalence rates across 41 countries. existing evidence indicated that the measures met contemporary standards and the project was cost-effective. the gem program, initiated in 1998, provides fundamental knowledge by assembling harmonized data annually to facilitate cross-national comparisons of entrepreneurial activity, estimate the role of entrepreneurship in economic growth, determine factors causing national differences in entrepreneurship, and support policies to enhance entrepreneurship. the program's objectives required an explicit statement of relevant variables and their roles in causal processes affecting economic growth. a formal focus guided coordination among dozens of national teams and hundreds of individuals. the challenge of harmonization was exacerbated by language diversity. an explicit model of the process was developed, with the 2001 version shown in figure 1. the major dependent variable was national economic growth, representing the causal mechanism of entrepreneurship's impact on growth.the global entrepreneurship monitor (gem) research program was designed to comprehensively assess the role of entrepreneurship in national economic growth. the conceptual model included various factors influencing national variations in entrepreneurial activity and major contextual features. empirical tests of the model required four major data collection activities: adult population surveys, unstructured interviews with national experts, self-administered questionnaires by national experts, and assembly of standardized measures from existing cross-national datasets. adult population surveys identified entrepreneurially active individuals, requiring precise criteria and careful processing to ensure harmonized counts and prevalence rates across 41 countries. existing evidence indicated that the measures met contemporary standards and the project was cost-effective. the gem program, initiated in 1998, provides fundamental knowledge by assembling harmonized data annually to facilitate cross-national comparisons of entrepreneurial activity, estimate the role of entrepreneurship in economic growth, determine factors causing national differences in entrepreneurship, and support policies to enhance entrepreneurship. the program's objectives required an explicit statement of relevant variables and their roles in causal processes affecting economic growth. a formal focus guided coordination among dozens of national teams and hundreds of individuals. the challenge of harmonization was exacerbated by language diversity. an explicit model of the process was developed, with the 2001 version shown in figure 1. the major dependent variable was national economic growth, representing the causal mechanism of entrepreneurship's impact on growth.