Entrepreneurship in the United States

Entrepreneurship is among the most vibrant and important parts of the economy, and this important contribution to understanding its dynamics provides the first assessment of changes over time in U.S. entrepreneurial activity. It is uniquely based on measures of participation of adults in new firm creation and gives a systematic overview of basic patterns in the firm creation process. Based on three harmonized research programs and other complementary data, this book sheds light on the importance of new firms for job growth, productivity enhancements, innovation, as well as a route for social mobility. By tracking the success or failure of entrepreneurs in creating new firms, this assessment includes comparisons of different groups, including women and minorities, as well as across different countries. All sectors of the population are making significant contributions. As long as the United States continues to make major investments in R&D and higher education the U.S. entrepreneurial sector is well positioned to retain a leadership role in the world economy. Significant implications for practitioners, educators and policy makers are discussed.


"This book provides an in-depth analysis of the factors that influence business creation. It should be required reading for those scholars in organization theory and behavior who are interested in the origins of organizations and in organizing processes. The book is also an important contribution to the study of economic development. Reynolds' ability to tie the findings of the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics to other datasets provides significant insights into the micro and macro dynamics of entrepreneurship."

—William B. Gartner, Spiro Professor of Entrepreneurial Leadership, Clemson University


"The growing stream of research on nascent entrepreneurship flows primarily from two significant research endeavors, the Panel Study on Entrepreneurial Dynamics, I and II, and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Paul Reynolds supplied the leadership to initiate and complete both. No one knows them better. In this book, Reynolds draws the threads together from these two major research efforts to produce an integrated and eminently readable overview of this critical topic. The entrepreneurial phenomenon cannot be appreciated nor understand without an appreciation and understanding of its very first stages. Reynolds lays them out wonderfully in this essential reading."

—William J. Dennis, Jr., Senior Research Fellow, NFIB Research Foundation


"This is the most important book on measuring entrepreneurial activity in the United States in a generation. It should be required reading for anyone serious about conducting research on, or formulating policy towards, entrepreneurship."

—Scott Shane, A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, Department of Economics, Case Western Reserve University


"Using a wealth of tables and figures, Paul Reynolds has compiled a comprehensive examination of entrepreneurship in the United States over the past several decades. He paints a fascinating picture of substantial turmoil beneath the apparently placid waters of the U.S. economy. Based on the unique data sets that he has assembled, we see that a large fraction of the U.S. population is involved in some form of new business activity in any given year. Indeed, his work shows that the United States is truly an ‘entrepreneurial society.’ Scholars will find well-grounded empirical generalizations that suggest a multitude of new research projects. Policy makers will find arguments about the factors associated with business startups and new firm growth that should cause them to rethink where governments should allocate their scarce resources."

—Howard Aldrich, Kenan Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina