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Small
Business Administration/Kauffman Foundation Conference
Last Friday, many of America’s leading economists met in Washington at a conference sponsored by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, NDE’s sponsor. The event, Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century, was organized to assess the latest trends in entrepreneurship research and explore economic issues likely to affect small business. The event included remarks from Treasury Secretary John Snow, National Economic Council Director Stephen Friedman, and a host of America’s leading small business researchers. Topics for discussion included small business finance, the demographics of new entrepreneurs, and the role of entrepreneurial businesses in stimulating new job growth.
To learn more about the conference and access the proceedings, visit http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/conference/
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Entrepreneurship as an Anti-Poverty Strategy
It’s taken some time, but the United Nations (UN) is beginning to understand the importance of entrepreneurship as a development strategy. Last year, it held its first ever conference on this topic, and earlier this month, the UN’s Commission on the Private Sector and Development sent its report, Unleashing Entrepreneurship: Making Business Work for the Poor, to Secretary General Kofi Annan. The Commission was chaired by Paul Martin, Canada’s former Prime Minister, and Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico. Their report argues that entrepreneurship must become a key component on the global development agenda. Overall, the best way to stimulate new businesses is to create an enabling environment. The report concludes that political and bureaucratic obstacles, not lack of entrepreneurial spirit, are the primary factors impeding business growth in many developing countries. By eliminating these man-made obstacles, governments can significantly improve the prospects for home grown businesses.
To access the March 2004 report from the UN’s Commission on the Private Sector and Development, Unleashing Entrepreneurship: Making Business Work for the Poor, visit
http://www.undp.org/cpsd/fullreport.pdf
Small Business Computer Use
While minorities and women are starting businesses at rapid rates, their overall rates of entrepreneurship and the success rates of their businesses still lag those of white males. A new study from the Urban Institute, Can Expanding the Use of Computers Improve the Performance of Small Minority and Women-Owned Enterprises?, seeks to determine whether different rates of computer use are one factor in explaining these differences. The researchers found no differences in computer use when comparing business owners by ethnicity or gender. In fact, African-Americans were more likely to use computers in their business than any other group. While the authors find no gaps in computer use, overall use of computers by small business still remains low. More general efforts to increase the intensity of computer use by small firms will improve productivity, and should be a top priority for policymakers.
To access the March 2004 Urban Institute study, Can Expanding the Use of Computers Improve the Performance of Small Minority and Women-Owned Enterprises?, by Robert I. Lerman, Caroline Ratcliffe, Harold Salzman, Douglas Wisocker, and Jennifer Gaudet, visit
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310971_Computers.pdf
You’re Not Getting Older, You’re Getting Better
Most research shows that the entrepreneurs tend to start businesses between the ages of 25-44, but a new study from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) shows that many in the 50-plus years are getting the entrepreneurial bug. Self-Employment and the 50+ Population was prepared for AARP by Lynn A. Karoly and Julie Zissimopoulos of the RAND Corporation. The report contains many interesting findings, including the fact that self-employment is higher among the 50+ population than among the workforce as a whole. Overall, around 16.4% of the older workforce is self-employed, compared to 10.4% of the overall US workforce. While self-employment levels declined for all US workers over the 1990s, the researchers predict that these trends may reverse as the US population ages. The researchers also find that self-employed older workers tend to have higher incomes and wealth than do workers in the general workforce. This effect is most pronounced for those who have experience with self-employment before age 50. Those who start after age 50 tend to have lower incomes and wealth, indicating that self-employment may be a means for supplementing other income. Overall, the research confirms that self-employment among the 50+ population will be a regular feature of the future economic landscape.
To access the March 2004 AARP report, Self-Employment and the 50+ Population, by Lynn A. Karoly and Julie Zissimopoulos, visit
http://research.aarp.org/econ/2004_03_self_employ.html
New Data Source on Science and Technology
If you’re looking for the latest figures on science and technology development, the US Commerce Department is there to help. Commerce’s Office of Technology Policy has just released the 4th Edition of The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators. The report provides a snapshot of how each of the fifty states is performing in terms of key science and technology indicators such as R&D expenditures, percentage of population with advanced degrees, and high technology business start-ups. This year’s edition also includes a new section that examines how leading indicators have changed over a ten-year period.
The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators (4th ed.) is available for downloading at
www.technology.gov/reports.htm
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