Firm Formation and Growth Series

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.

The reports in the series include:

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Tech Starts: High-Technology Business Formation and Job Creation in the United States

08/20/13
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.
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The Return of Business Creation

08/05/13
New business formation rebounded in 2011, after four years of decline, from the depths of the Great Recession.
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Starting Smaller; Staying Smaller: America's Slow Leak in Job Creation

07/11/11
Recent new businesses been starting up with fewer workers than historic norms and are also adding fewer workers as they grow.
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Financialization and Its Entrepreneurial Consequences

03/15/11
The U.S. financial sector expanded dramatically over the last hundred years in both relative and absolute terms. This expansion has had a number of causes and consequences, most of which can be lumped broadly under the heading of increased "financialization" of the economy. This led, in part, to the financial crisis of 2008/2009. In this paper, however, we consider the implications of financialization for the structure of the U.S. economy, in particular for entrepreneurship.
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Neutralism and Entrepreneurship: The Structural Dynamics of Startups, Young Firms and Job Creation

09/09/10
Patterns of firm formation and survival help explain the extraordinary job creation by startups.
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After Inception: How Enduring is Job Creation by Startups?

09/09/10
The majority of the employment startups generate remains as new firms age, creating a lasting impact on the economy, according to this study.
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The Importance of Startups in Job Creation and Job Destruction

09/09/10
This study finds that net job growth occurs in the U.S. economy only through startup firms.
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Where Will the Jobs Come From?

05/01/11
This analysis of the 2007 Census data shows that young firms account for roughly two-thirds of job creation, averaging nearly four new jobs per firm per year. Of the overall 12 million new jobs added in 2007, young firms were responsible for the creation of nearly 8 million of those jobs.
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Exploring Firm Formation: Why is the Number of New Firms Constant?

04/07/10
According to this study, new-business creation in the United States is remarkably constant over time.
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High-Growth Firms and the Future of the American Economy

04/07/10
High-growth firms account for a disproportionate share of job creation in the United States, according to this report.
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Research