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Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship—creating emerging sectors and new businesses to foster economic development—is a vital driver of the global economy. RAND research on U.S. entrepreneurship explores how public policy affects start-up businesses, from the impact of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 to the problems posed by the U.S. employer-based health care system; worldwide, RAND research has focused on international trade and entrepreneurship in developing countries.

Blog

Insights on Afghanistan, Back to School, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the collapse in Afghanistan, what parents think about sending kids back to school, insights from game theory on North Korean denuclearization, and more.

Aug 20, 2021
Report

The Changing Nature of Entrepreneurship

The rise of technology-enabled services has made it easier than ever to start a business. But there are costs that entrepreneurs must pay—and challenges they must overcome—to succeed online.

Aug 18, 2021
Report

Promoting Equity in Entrepreneurship Could Lift U.S. Economy

Entrepreneurial support for women and racial and ethnic minorities has the potential to improve wealth accumulation among these groups. It could also revitalize communities where minority business owners are located and boost economic growth by unlocking the talent of would-be entrepreneurs.

Aug 3, 2021
Research Brief

The Prevalence of Criminal Records Among Small Business Owners

This research brief addresses a new estimate of how many U.S. small businesses have owners with criminal history records.

Jun 30, 2021
Report

Small Businesses, Criminal Histories, and the Paycheck Protection Program

The Paycheck Protection Program—signed into law as part of the CARES Act in March 2020—provided money for payroll, rent, mortgage, and utilities to small businesses. But companies owned by individuals with criminal backgrounds were ineligible to receive funds. Some of the restrictions were later relaxed, but how many business owners and employees were affected?

Jun 21, 2021
Blog

COVID-19 Testing in Schools, Family Caregivers, U.S. Entrepreneurship: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19 testing in schools, giving a voice to family caregivers, preparing for daylight saving time, and more.

Mar 12, 2021
Report

Entrepreneurship in America: Challenges and Opportunities

There's a widespread belief that the United States is a leader in entrepreneurial activity, but evidence does not support this. What can be done to better support entrepreneurship and promote economic opportunity in America?

Mar 11, 2021
News Release

Preparing Now Can Help Small Businesses Revive More Quickly as the Economy Reopens, Business Owners Tell RAND

As small businesses reopen after a lengthy pandemic shutdown, one key challenge will be finding working capital to replenish inventories and pay employees until revenue returns to normal.

May 27, 2020
Report

How Small Businesses Are Surviving the Pandemic

Small-business owners are facing many challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. What kinds of policies might help them in the immediate term? And what will they need to thrive once the public health crisis has passed?

May 22, 2020
Journal Article

When Financial Incentives Backfire: Evidence from a Community Health Worker Experiment in Uganda

Despite stronger financial incentives for community health workers, the entrepreneurial model led to substantially less effort (fewer household visits) than the free delivery model. Our results call into question the notion that an entrepreneurial model necessarily increases community health worker effort relative to free distribution.

Feb 13, 2020
Journal Article

Business Angel Spotlight

This study was a survey of Business Angels (high net worth individuals) in the UK to understand the trends and drivers in the start-up market in 2017. RAND Europe provided policy inputs that informed the findings of the study.

Oct 18, 2018
Commentary

Disneyland's Next Rival? The Theme Park in Your Living Room

Cheap and capable technologies available to everyone allow entrepreneurs and gamers to compete with the large multinational firms that develop and deliver entertainment. In 2018 we will see the arrival of micro amusement parks with technology-based rides.

Jan 10, 2018
Journal Article

Can Income Diversification Explain the Growing Entrepreneurship Gap by Age?

The key result of our analysis is that income diversification has become increasingly important in determining entrepreneurship, but that younger households became less likely over time to have income from multiple sources. At the same time, older households maintained their income diversification and their likelihood of working as entrepreneurs became more responsive to having substantial income from non-business sources such as capital income and Social Security benefits.

Aug 15, 2017
Commentary

How Uganda Could Benefit from a Center for Food Innovation

A training and innovation center that trains and certifies street food vendors to address issues related to food hygiene, safety, and quality would accelerate the growth of a new Ugandan cuisine that capitalizes on nutritious local ingredients in a sustainable manner.

May 23, 2017
Commentary

What Street Food Vendors in Uganda Need to Succeed

Street vendors in Kampala, Uganda, would benefit from infrastructure development, food safety standards, rules of hygiene, and greater focus on healthy products. The city's growing population also would benefit from increased access to nutritious and affordable foods.

May 16, 2017
Report

Combining Entrepreneurship and Web Development for High School Students: A Pilot Evaluation of the Startup Tech Program and High School Students' College and Career Aspirations

This pilot evaluation of Startup Tech assesses whether 12th-grade students experienced either improved self-efficacy or changes in their college and career plans during the year in which they were in the program.

Jan 6, 2017
Commentary

Book Review: 'Bourgeois Equality'

In Bourgeois Equality, economist and historian Deirdre McCloskey advances the theory that ideas — not capital, institutions, innovation, R&D, tax policy, monetary policy, or regulatory policy — are the propelling force behind economic and societal growth.

Sep 30, 2016
Dissertation

Exploring Sources of Innovation in the Knowledge-Based Economy: The Case of Los Angeles

Uses a mix of both quantitative and qualitative methods to help policy makers identify sources of innovation in the knowledge-based economy and to best leverage these sources for regional economic growth.

Jul 15, 2016
Journal Article

Pilot Projects Under the Call for Proposals 'Supporting the Demand and Supply Side of the Market for Social Enterprise Finance': Final Report

The objective of the call was to identify, develop, promote and disseminate the good practice of national, regional or local governments and of financial intermediaries in assisting young social entrepreneurs at times of high youth unemployment.

Apr 18, 2016
Journal Article

Time Discounting in Strategic Contests

This paper uses controlled laboratory experiments to explore how the timing of prize payment impacts behavior in a contest with a unique Nash equilibrium strategy.

Mar 17, 2016

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