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Week of October 15 - 21, 2007 |
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Doing Business 2008 View the findings of the World Bank’s 2008 Doing Business report at www.doingbusiness.org. |
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A Mixed Message on STEM Education It seems that everybody loves more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education -- as long as it’s provided to someone else’s kids. A new Public Agenda survey of students and parents in Kansas and Missouri, sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, finds that just 25% of surveyed parents believe that their children should be studying more math and science. These findings are somewhat surprising, given that 86% of parents also believe that their kids will have a big advantage in their careers if they possess advanced math and science skills. What explains this complacency? The researchers suggest that parents and students still do not fully understand the importance of math and science education to their own lives and careers. While they understand the importance of these subjects in an abstract sense, they are still not able to connect these views to their own daily lives. The study concludes with recommendations that call for further initiatives to publicize--and humanize--the value of math and science education. Access the 2007 Public Agenda report, Important, but Not for Me: Parents and Students in Kansas and Missouri Talk About Math, Science, and Technology Education, by Alison Kadlec and Will Freedman, with Amber Ott. |
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VC Exits Jump in Third Quarter Recent market volatility doesn’t seem to be hampering confidence or performance in the venture capital (VC) sector. The latest data from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Financial indicate that mergers and acquisition (M&As) activity in the third quarter of 2007 hit its high level since 2000. Sixty-seven venture-backed M&A deals were completed during this period. Final dollar figures are only available for 34 of the deals, but this small sample accounted for big numbers -- $3.4 billion in value. Meanwhile, twelve venture-backed initial public offerings were also completed in the third quarter of 2007. This total represents a slight increase from last year’s levels. Venture industry observers remain cautious, however. They note that they are hearing many anecdotes -- such as lengthening time to complete acquisitions -- that may indicate market weaknesses in the future. View the latest National Venture Capital Association/Thomson Financial statistics on the venture capital industry, visit www.nvca.org. |
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Immigrants and Entrepreneurship in the UK A new look at the economic impact of immigrants in Great Britain contains some useful figures on their spending, employment, and self-employment. The study, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, presents data on twenty-five different ethnic groups who make large portions of Britain’s immigrant population. Overall, about 9.7% of the UK population is foreign-born (for comparison, the figure is 12.9% in the US). Not surprisingly, these immigrants have aggressively pursued entrepreneurship as a career option. The national rate for self-employment is about 13%. Leading immigrant groups start businesses at rates nearly triple (Turkish, Pakistani, and Iranian immigrants) or nearly double (immigrants from Bangladesh and Cyprus) these figures. Overall, the report finds that immigrant groups show great differences in economic activity depending upon their countries of origin. However, on most criteria, most immigrant groups perform better in economic terms than does the UK-born population. Access the September 2007 Institute for Public Policy Research report, Britain’s Immigrants: An Economic Profile, by Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Laurence Cooley and Tracy Kornblatt. |
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AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) has been tracking how well the American economy is performing in terms of high technology job creation. The news is pretty good for the first half of 2007 as four leading high tech sectors (high-tech manufacturing, communication services, software services, and engineering and tech services) created added 118,500 jobs during this period. While this 2.6% growth is slightly lower than 2006 levels, industry representatives remain fairly pleased with the industry’s three straight years of steady job growth. The biggest job growth has come from engineering and tech services, while high-tech manufacturing has shown only a small jump in new job creation (+1,800). The report also identifies several key policy issues that may affect the industry’s prospects for the remainder of 2007. These include providing full funding for the provisions of the American COMPETES Act and raising caps on the provision of H1-B visas for skilled immigrant workers. To access the September 2007 AeA Competitiveness Series report, US Tech Industry Adds 118,500 Jobs in First Half of 2007. |
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The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. |
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National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
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stories © 2007 The Public Forum Institute
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