What is meant by entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth is often not clear or very idiosyncratic. This paper starts with a discussion of the nature of entrepreneurship and its relation to innovation. The second section provides an overview of theory and empirical research on the relation between entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth. The paper continues with a study on entrepreneurship and innovation in the Netherlands in an international and historical perspective. After these conceptual, theoretical and empirical investigations, we turn to policy issues.