Reports and summarizes issues important to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

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.

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...

This study analyzes whether economic conditions at the time of labor market entry affect entrepreneurship, using difference in business start-ups between cohorts of college students graduating in boom or bust economic conditions. Those graduating during an economic bust tend to delay their...

We introduce a taxonomy that classifies industries using three criteria: net growth in the number of firms; the interrelationship between firm entry and firm exit; and the degree of urban-bias in industry growth. We show that in 9 of 15 two-digit NAICS industries investigated, there is evidence...

This report provides a descriptive overview of the Iowa State University Alumni Survey. In late 2007, 25,000 Iowa State University alumni who received bachelor's degree between 1982 and 2006 were surveyed to obtain information on their career paths, employment status, further education,...

This paper uses the pattern of firm entry and exit to develop a classification system for industries. The classifications include urban-rural bias; long-term growth; and firm survival patterns. The first captures the fact that sector-specific economic growth may be favored in urban areas for...