In this study, we use data from the Federal Reserve’s 1993, 1998 and 2003 Surveys of Small Business Finances to classify small businesses into four groups based upon their credit needs and to model the credit allocation process into a sequence of three steps. First, do firms need credit? We...

In this study, we use data from the SSBFs to provide new information about the use of credit by small businesses in the U.S. More specifically, we first analyze firms that do and do not use credit; and then analyze why some firms use trade credit while others use bank credit. We find that one in...

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration implemented Project GATE, an experimental demonstration program designed to provide free self-employment assistance to individuals interested in starting their own business. This paper uses data from Project GATE to...

This paper uses data from Project GATE to examine the efficacy of offering free self-employment assistance to unemployed individuals interested in self-employment, overall and by race. We also examine the effect of participants’ self-employment background, finances, and personal circumstances...

In this study, we analyze the firm’s choice of legal form of organization (“LFO”). We find that only about one in three firms begins operations as a proprietorship, while almost as many begin as limited-liability companies and as corporations. Moreover, this distribution is remarkably...

Subsidizing small high-technology firms is now considered to be important in stimulating economies throughout the world. This is because fast growing small firms create new markets and jobs. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has played an important role in the United States...

Small businesses occupy an iconic place in American public policy debates. This paper discusses interactions between the federal tax code, small business, and the economy. We summarize the characteristics of small businesses, identify the tax provisions that most affect small businesses, and...

The quarterly private capital access (PCA) index and the private capital demand (PCD) index, economic indicators published by the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, predict continued low levels of both demand and access in the near future. Thus the near-term prospects for robust...

This case concerns a small business at a tipping point in the owner's life cycle immediately before the global financial crisis hit. Students should be able to identify a number of areas where the company can improve its strategy in a highly competitive industry. The case is geared towards...

The influx of Microfinance institutions in Ashanti Region of Ghana over the past two decades and their importance to small businesses has attracted heated debate. This study reports on the effect of microfinance Institutions (MFIs) on the growth of Small Businesses(SBs). The main data collection...