Studying the way legal and regulatory policymaking affect small businesses and entrepreneurship
RAND's research into entrepreneurship considers how it can address critical social problems and the role that public policy plays in fostering or impeding innovation through entrepreneurship. Our work addresses these issues in several policy areas: health care, civil justice, energy and criminal justice. In addition, RAND research is focusing on the role of technology transfer and commercialization in innovation and the utilization of small businesses in U.S. government contracting.
Technology-enabled platforms and services have contributed to increased rates of entrepreneurship in the United States. However, concentration in the online marketplace has also increased, affecting entrepreneurs' costs and access to both customers and a level playing field. Systematic monitoring of the trajectories and experiences of entrepreneurs will be needed to ensure that entrepreneurship remains a pathway to financial success.
Inequities in wealth, access to capital, and support networks contribute to significant disparities in entrepreneurship start-up and success for women and racial and ethnic minorities relative to White men. Policies to rectify these inequities could improve wealth accumulation among these groups and revitalize the communities around their businesses, promote equality of opportunity, and boost economic growth.
This research brief addresses a new estimate of how many U.S. small businesses have owners with criminal history records.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has provided funds to small businesses to ease the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. However, the PPP did not initially disburse funds to companies owned by individuals with felony backgrounds. In this report, researchers estimate how many small businesses have owners with criminal history records and how many businesses were potentially affected by PPP restrictions.
This Perspective describes recent trends in entrepreneurial activity in the United States, such as the formation of new businesses and their share of job creation. The trends show that entrepreneurial activity is declining and that the United States lags many other developed countries. The authors highlight the challenges and opportunities that new and existing small businesses face as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
SPARK, an NGO supporting young people's access to education and employment, commissioned RAND Europe to conduct a survey to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and Turkey. It also explored what support SMEs need to survive the pandemic.
With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic causing economic dislocations worldwide, RAND researchers interviewed 21 small-business owners and found that the most common concerns focused on a need for assistance in covering fixed operating costs and on worker safety. Adjustments to existing policies were also discussed, such as clear rules for reopening businesses and coordinated reopening policies across neighboring jurisdictions.
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.
