This survey article aims at critically discussing the recent literature on firm formation and survival and the growth of new-born firms. The basic purpose is to single out the microeconomic entrepreneurial foundations of industrial dynamics (entry and exit) and to characterise the founder's...

This survey paper aims at critically discussing the recent literature on firm formation and survival and the growth of new-born firms. The basic purpose is to single out the microeconomic entrepreneurial foundations of industrial dynamics (entry and exit) and to characterise the founder's...

Analyzing data on all U.S. employers in a cohort of entering firms, we document a highly skewed size distribution, such that the largest 5% account for over half of cohort employment at firm birth and more than two-thirds at firm age 7. Little of the size variation is accounted for by industry...

Young firms are known to grow at a faster rate than incumbents. With administrative firm data from Germany, we show that the higher growth rates indeed translate into upward mobility within the firm size distribution. Young firms are therefore not only able to catch up, but also to grow larger...

We posit that entrepreneurs who engage in strategic activities will have high growth aspirations. Our proposed mechanism is that strategic engagements, specifically product innovation, process innovation and internationalization, open entrepreneurial ventures to learning, and thereby greater...

We study whether corporate income taxation affects the long-term growth of newly incorporated companies through its effect on their choice of leverage at entry. We find that a decrease in corporate income taxation leads to a sizeable decrease in leverage at entry, and that the distribution of...