Entrepreneurship in the United States

by Reynolds, Paul Davidson

• ISBN13: 9780387456676
• ISBN10: 0387456678
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-09-30
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Entrepreneurship is among the most vibrant and important parts of the economy. This important book enhances understanding of entrepreneurial dynamics, providing the first analysis of changes in US entrepreneurial activity. Based on the unprecedented Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, it examines adult participation in new firm creation and differences in regional firm creation activity. Shedding light on the importance of new firms for job growth, productivity enhancements, innovation, and routes for social mobility, the author tracks the success or failure of entrepreneurs, including comparisons of different groups, such as women and minorities, along with different countries. Among the findings are that entrepreneurship has growth significantly in the US since the mid 1990's, that the US is holding it's own in the global competition, and that all sectors of the population are making significant contributions. Significant implications for practitioners, educators and policy makers are discussed.

Author Biography

Paul D. Reynolds is Professor in the Department of Management and International Business at Florida International University. He is the recipient of the 2004 International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research provided by Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research and the Swedish Business Development Agency (the "Swedish Prize"). Dr. Reynolds was part of the team that created the Entrepreneurial Research Consortium (ERC) and has served as the Coordinating Principal Investigator through the life of the initial Panel Study of EntrepreneurialDynamics (PSED I) project, 1995-2003. He is Co-Principal Investigator of the replication of this project, PSED II, to take place from 2004 to 2009. He served as the Coordinating Principal Investigator of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor [GEM] program since its inception in 1998 until 2004, serving as the principal author of five consecutive global assessments. Dr. Reynolds has taught at London Business School, University of Pennsylvania, and INSEAD, and held endowed chairs in Entrepreneurship at both Marquette University and Babson College.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. xi
List of Tables	p. xv
Preface	p. xvii
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Why Care?	p. 1
New Sectors	p. 2
Job Growth	p. 3
Productivity	p. 5
Innovation	p. 6
Economic Growth	p. 8
Participation in Business Start-ups	p. 11
Start-up Participation over the Work Career	p. 12
Social Integration, Mobility	p. 13
Overview	p. 15
Notes	p. 16
What Is Entrepreneurship and How Do You Find It?	p. 17
Population Surveys: U.S. Entrepreneurial Assessment	p. 20
Population Surveys: U.S. Current Population Surveys [CPS]	p. 22
New Entries in Official Registries: U.S. Census and BLS	p. 24
Correspondence between Procedures	p. 26
Overview	p. 28
Notes	p. 28
How Much and When?	p. 31
Single Item Index: 1993-2006	p. 31
Total Entrepreneurial Activity Index: 1998-2006	p. 32
Prevalence of Participation and Employer Firm, Establishment Registrations	p. 35
Are Different Groups Changing Participation Over Time?	p. 36
Personal Context	p. 40
Overview	p. 41
Notes	p. 42
Comparisons across Space	p. 45
Firm Births: Spatial Diversity	p. 45
Firm Births: Regional Factors Associated with Variations	p. 48
Firm Births: Stability and Change in Firm Birth Rates	p. 53
Firm Births: Factors Associated with Change	p. 57
Survey Reports of Entrepreneurial Activity: Census Division Comparisons	p. 59
Survey Reports of Entrepreneurial Activity: Compared to Firm Birth Rates	p. 60
Survey Reports of Entrepreneurial Activity: Regional Factors and Variation	p. 62
Overview	p. 63
Notes	p. 65
Individuals: Participation in the Business Life Course	p. 67
Who Becomes a Business Owner?	p. 68
What Are Business Owners Like?	p. 72
How Do People Get Involved?	p. 77
Overview	p. 82
Notes	p. 83
What Happens in the Start-up Process?	p. 85
What Is the Outcome Once the Start-up Process Is Initiated?	p. 85
How Long Does It Take?	p. 86
What Kinds of Individuals or Situations Affect the Presence of a New Firm?	p. 88
What Happens in the Start-up Process?	p. 95
Interactions: Who They Are and What They Are Doing	p. 101
Overview	p. 106
Notes	p. 108
Comparisons across the Firm Life Course	p. 109
Business Firms in the Life Course	p. 110
Firm Characteristics and Firm Life Course Stage	p. 118
Overview	p. 123
Notes	p. 124
Start-up Funding: Expectations, Informal Support, and Accredited Investors	p. 125
Money Expectations: Investments and Returns	p. 125
Annual Funding for All Start-ups	p. 129
Informal Investors	p. 131
Who Are the Informal Investors?	p. 133
Investor and the "Informal Deal"	p. 136
The Start-up and the Informal Deal	p. 139
Accredited Investors	p. 142
Overview	p. 148
Notes	p. 150
Comparisons across Space: United States and the World	p. 151
Global Comparisons: Selected Features of Entrepreneurial Activity	p. 153
Total Amount of Activity: Global Estimates	p. 157
National Factors Associated with Entrepreneurial Activity	p. 160
Global Regions and High Potential Entrepreneurship	p. 169
Overview	p. 170
Commentary	p. 171
Notes	p. 172
Overview and Commentary	p. 173
Implications for Public Policy	p. 176
Implications for New Firm Creation	p. 178
Implications for Research	p. 179
Note	p. 183
Measuring Entrepreneurial Activity	p. 183
Note	p. 188
Firm Birth Rates by U.S. Labor Market Areas: 1976-1996	p. 189
Sample Compared to Population on Household Income, Wealth	p. 205
References	p. 207
Index	p. 211
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