Entrepreneurship in the United States : the future is now / Paul Davidson Reynolds.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reynolds, Paul D. (Paul Davidson), 1938-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Entrepreneurship--United States--Case studies.

Entrepreneurship.

New business enterprises.

United States.

New business enterprises--United States.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xx, 221 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Springer, 2007.

Summary:

Entrepreneurship is among the most vibrant and essential parts of the economy, and this important contribution to understanding its dynamics provides the first assessment of changes over time in U.S. entrepreneurial activity. It is uniquely based on measures of participation of adults in new firm creation and gives a systematic overview of basic patterns in the firm creation process. Based on three harmonized research programs and other complementary data, this book sheds light on the importance of new firms for job growth, productivity enhancements, and innovation, as well as a route for social mobility. By tracking the success or failure of entrepreneurs in creating new firms, this assessment includes comparisons of different groups, including women and minorities, as well as across different countries. Reynolds demonstrates that all sectors of the population are making significant contributions and argues that as long as the United States continues to make major investments in R&D and higher education, the U.S. entrepreneurial sector is well positioned to retain a leadership role in the world economy. Significant implications for practitioners, educators and policy makers are discussed.

Contents:

1 Why Care? 1

New Sectors 2

Job Growth 3

Productivity 5

Innovation 6

Economic Growth 8

Participation in Business Start-ups 11

Start-up Participation over the Work Career 12

Social Integration, Mobility 13

2 What Is Entrepreneurship and How Do You Find It? 17

Population Surveys: U.S. Entrepreneurial Assessment 20

Population Surveys: U.S. Current Population Surveys [CPS] 22

New Entries in Official Registries: U.S. Census and BLS 24

Correspondence between Procedures 26

3 How Much and When? 31

Single Item Index: 1993-2006 31

Total Entrepreneurial Activity Index: 1998-2006 32

Prevalence of Participation and Employer Firm, Establishment Registrations 35

Are Different Groups Changing Participation Over Time? 36

Personal Context 40

4 Comparisons across Space 45

Firm Births: Spatial Diversity 45

Firm Births: Regional Factors Associated with Variations 48

Firm Births: Stability and Change in Firm Birth Rates 53

Firm Births: Factors Associated with Change 57

Survey Reports of Entrepreneurial Activity: Census Division Comparisons 59

Survey Reports of Entrepreneurial Activity: Compared to Firm Birth Rates 60

Survey Reports of Entrepreneurial Activity: Regional Factors and Variation 62

5 Individuals: Participation in the Business Life Course 67

Who Becomes a Business Owner? 68

What Are Business Owners Like? 72

How Do People Get Involved? 77

6 What Happens in the Start-up Process? 85

What Is the Outcome Once the Start-up Process Is Initiated? 85

How Long Does It Take? 86

What Kinds of Individuals or Situations Affect the Presence of a New Firm? 88

What Happens in the Start-up Process? 95

Interactions: Who They Are and What They Are Doing 101

7 Comparisons across the Firm Life Course 109

Business Firms in the Life Course 110

Firm Characteristics and Firm Life Course Stage 118

8 Start-up Funding: Expectations, Informal Support, and Accredited Investors 125

Money Expectations: Investments and Returns 125

Annual Funding for All Start-ups 129

Informal Investors 131

Who Are the Informal Investors? 133

Investor and the "Informal Deal" 136

The Start-up and the Informal Deal 139

Accredited Investors 142

9 Comparisons across Space: United States and the World 151

Global Comparisons: Selected Features of Entrepreneurial Activity 153

Total Amount of Activity: Global Estimates 157

National Factors Associated with Entrepreneurial Activity 160

Global Regions and High Potential Entrepreneurship 169

10 Overview and Commentary 173

Implications for Public Policy 176

Implications for New Firm Creation 178

Implications for Research 179

Appendix A Measuring Entrepreneurial Activity 183

Appendix B Firm Birth Rates by U.S. Labor Market Areas: 1976-1996 189

Appendix C Sample Compared to Population on Household Income, Wealth 205.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780387456676

0387456678

OCLC:

76935741