We document two striking facts about U.S. firm dynamics and interpret their significance for aggregate employment dynamics. The first observation is the steady decline in the firm entry rate over the last thirty years, and the second is the gradual shift of employment from younger to older firms...

A Schumpeterian process of creative destruction can induce a rational herd behavior by entrepreneurs across various sectors of the economy that may look like it is fuelled by "animal spirits." Across cyclical economies, a negative relationship emerges between volatility and growth, and the...