Article
Political Institutions, Legal Frameworks, and Entrepreneurship in Algeria: Pathways to Innovation and Sustainable Development
Entrepreneurship has become central to Algeria's efforts to diversify an economy long dominated by hydrocarbons, yet entrepreneurial activity remains embedded in political and legal institutions that shape both opportunity and constraint. This article examines how political institutions and legal frameworks relate to entrepreneurship in Algeria, with particular attention to innovation and sustainable development. Drawing on institutional theory and combining a survey of 300 Algerian entrepreneurs and SME managers with a reading of legislation, public policies, and academic literature, the study tests a sequential model in which institutional conditions influence entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship contributes to innovation, and innovation supports sustainable development. The findings show that political institutional quality and legal framework effectiveness are positively associated with entrepreneurial development, while regulatory predictability is more strongly linked to innovation than to entrepreneurial entry. Entrepreneurial development and innovation performance are both positively associated with sustainable development contribution. A bootstrapped sequential mediation analysis supports an indirect pathway from institutional conditions through entrepreneurship and innovation to sustainable development. The study argues that institutional reform in Algeria should be assessed not by the volume of legislation but by the predictability, coherence, and practical implementation of rules that entrepreneurs actually encounter.