In Lazear (2005)’s model of entrepreneurship, individuals with more diverse academic and occupational training are more likely to become entrepreneurs, while more narrowly trained individuals become employees. We examine whether Lazear’s model can also explain which individuals...

We investigate the stability of measured risk attitudes over time, using a 13-year longitudinal sample of individuals in the NLSY79. We find that an individual’s risk aversion changes systematically in response to personal economic circumstances.  Risk aversion increases with lengthening...

<Para ID="Par1">Sri Lanka’s Termination of Employment of Workmen Act (TEWA) requires that firms with 15 or more workers justify layoffs and provide generous severance pay to displaced workers, with smaller firms being exempted. Although formally subject to TEWA, firms in Export Promotion Zones (EPZs) do not...</para>

Iowa provided partial state funding to communities to build tourist attractions, a potential solution to local under-provision of public goods. A 10 percent increase in state funds increased county taxable retail sales by 0.1 percent. The State’s return from resulting sales tax revenue...

The fraction self-employed rises in recessions because wage work is more sensitivethan self-employment to the business cycle, not because of necessityentrepreneurship. Graduating during a recession reduces the probability of starting a business forthe next 11 years.

We propose a strategy to identify the complementarity or substitutability among technology bundles. Differences between the observed distribution of technology choices can be subjected to statistical tests. Combinations of technologies that occur with greater frequency than would occur under...

Training funds are used to incentivize training in developing countries, but the funds are based on payroll taxes that lower the return to training.  In the absence of training funds, larger, high-wage and more capital intensive firms are the most likely to offer training unless they are...

The availability of broadband Internet service should have increased firm productivity and lowered firm entry costs.  However, validating the broadband effect is complicated by the rapid deployment of broadband Internet service across metropolitan areas, removing meaningful variation in...

This study submits eleven business climate indexes to tests of their ability to predict relative economic performance on either side of state borders. Our results show that most business climate indexes have no ability to predict relative economic growth regardless of how growth is measured. ...