This paper, released at the first-ever Mayors Conference during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013, discusses the importance of cultural entrepreneurs, particularly since the Great Recession. Author Ann Markusen of the University of Minnesota provides concrete steps that mayors and the public sector can follow to promote cultural entrepreneurship. Economists and city planners increasingly have documented the […]

Global Entrepreneurship Week is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. During one week each November, GEW inspires people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. […]

The Kauffman Foundation Research Series on Firm Formation and Economic Growth consists of reports that explore the relationship between firm formation and economic growth in the United States from a variety of angles.

Role models and imitation are important in entrepreneurship. In an October 2013 paper, “Getting the Bug: Is (Growth) Entrepreneurship Contagious,” we looked at the role of imitation in spurring entrepreneurship. In a related effort, this paper looks at entrepreneurial role models through the lens of which entrepreneurs are most readily identifiable by U.S. residents.

The paper presents the results of a survey of 2,000 Americans across the country, asking whether they knew entrepreneurs – both in general and specifically "growth" entrepreneurs whose ventures add more employment and wealth to the economy – and if they themselves were entrepreneurs.

State economic rankings, though popular with think tanks, policymakers, media and even some academics, cannot be taken at face value, according to this article.

In this, the second quarter 2013 release of the Kauffman/LegalZoom Startup Confidence Index, startup business owners' confidence reached the highest level since the study was initiated in first quarter 2012.

This paper finds that Kansas City and other areas viewed as "new" startup hubs actually have been fostering a culture of entrepreneurship for some time. Many of these cities have a history of strong technology sectors or experienced strong growth among technology startups over the past two decades.

State business climate rankings are popular and can be influential in policymaking. Past academic studies have criticized those rankings for being based on some subjective criteria and on state-level data. This paper proposes, first, that a business climate is an individual perception, and second, that a business climate is a case-specific condition depending on industries […]

High-tech startups are a key driver of job creation throughout the United States, according to research by technology policy coalition Engine and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Though they start lean, new high-tech companies grow rapidly in the early years, adding thousands of jobs along the way.