Week
of January 26 - 30, 2004
Welcome
to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship and E-News, an electronic
newsletter sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City for
followers of the entrepreneurial economy. Through E-News, we bring you
short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation
economy. Please feel free to share this with friends and colleagues. To
subscribe, visit www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/join/
The State of the Union: What’s in it for Entrepreneurs?
President Bush’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday garnered a great deal of public attention, with much of the focus on his forceful stance against gay marriage and the situation in Iraq. But, the speech also contained the outlines of Bush’s plans to help stimulate economic growth, create jobs and support American entrepreneurs. Here are some of the details from Bush’s speech and other new initiatives related to his remarks. The cornerstone of Bush’s economic plan is his new initiative, Jobs for the 21st Century. This program will invest $250 million in partnerships between community colleges and leading employers in high-demand job sectors, such as health care. In addition, $220 million will be invested in middle school and high school education programs to improve reading and math skills. Bush also seeks to reduce growing health care costs, a major concern for new business owners. His plan includes a mix of tax-free health savings accounts, health insurance tax credits for low-income families, and creation of Association Health Plans (AHPs) that allow small firms to organize into health insurance purchasing pools.
The White House has created a special web portal for State of the Union-related information. To access these materials, visit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2004/index.html
Mapping Rural Entrepreneurship
If you’re interested in the topic of rural entrepreneurship, we can recommend a new report from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). Mapping Rural Entrepreneurship does what it says---it provides a map of the current state of entrepreneurship in Rural America and offers guidelines for expanding this activity. The report also includes interesting case studies of ongoing projects in Kentucky and Nebraska.
To access the report, Mapping Rural Entrepreneurship, visit http://www.wkkf.org/Pubs/RuralMappingRpt_00376_03791.pdf
The Changing Face of Entrepreneurs
An interesting article in the January 2004 edition of Entrepreneur magazine takes a look at the changing face of American entrepreneurs. The report contrasts entrepreneurs starting out 50 years ago with today’s entrepreneurs. In that earlier period, the typical new entrepreneur was a white male, often working with his family who owned a retail shop or local manufacturer, and who focused on local goods and services. Today, that picture is completely different and will continue to evolve thanks to an aging population and growing diversity in the American workplace. The article describes the rise of women and minority entrepreneurs as the biggest change seen in the past few decades. Experts also predict a boom in self-employment, as baby boomers begin to retire and start business more attuned with their lifestyle choices. In fact, the SBA expects that self-employment will double between the period of 1996 and 2006. These new entrepreneurs are less likely to work 24-7-365, and instead will seek to enter fields where building a business can be combined with other interests and pursuits.
The article, “About Face,” by Joshua Kurlantzick appears in the January 2004 edition of Entrepreneur magazine. It is also available on-line at
http://www.entrepreneur.com/Magazines/Copy_of_MA_SegArticle/0,4453,312260,00.html
The Coming Labor Shortage?
Demographic changes don’t just mean more diversity; they also mean fewer younger people in the workforce as baby boomers begin retiring. This shift in labor markets will have a tremendous impact on America’s economy (and its entrepreneurs) in coming decades. A new Brookings Institution study, Labor Supply and the “Brain Drain:” Signs from Census 2000, examines these trends in light of new data from the 2000 Census. The report contains some interesting findings. Contrary to popular reports of a “brain drain” of young people moving from the Northeast and Midwest to other areas, Gottlieb finds that these regions still have the highest educational attainment among the 25-34 year old age cohort. The South and West have higher numbers of these younger workers, but their educational attainment levels are lower. However, net migration of young people to the South and West is much higher than to the Midwest and Northeast. Moreover, younger workers tend to migrate to regions with high amenities and high human capital achievement rates. Cities like San Francisco, Atlanta, Denver and Seattle enjoyed the highest levels of in-migration of highly educated young people. Faced with this data, Gottlieb recommends that regions focus on improving the quality not quantity of workers in the local labor force. In other words, improved education and training programs, increased workplace flexibility, and the development of local amenities should become more important parts of the economic development tool kit.
The January 2004 Brookings Institution report, Labor Supply and the “Brain Drain:” Signs from Census 2000, by Paul Gottlieb, is available at
http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/publications/20040116_gottlieb.htm
|