The Impact of Regulation and Litigation on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

This working paper surveys existing research and the general state of knowledge on the impact of regulation and legislation on small business. It focuses on laws and regulations in four key regulatory areas: corporate securities, environmental protection, employment, and health insurance. In each of these areas, the review summarizes the regulatory environment, discusses the impact of the regulatory environment on small business and highlights issues in need of further research. In so doing, the review explores the ways small businesses and entrepreneurs behave differently from large businesses; the ways that policymakers, customers, employees and other organizations treat small businesses differently from larger businesses; and how these differences relate to the policy rationales that underlie regulation and the use of the tort system. A primary aim of this review is to identify additional research that would assist regulators, courts, legislatures, and others in balancing competing policy objectives. The report concludes with suggestions for future research.