The Role of Entrepreneurship in US Job Creation and Economic Dynamism
Ryan A. Decker, John Haltiwanger, Ron S. Jarmin, Javier Miranda
Journal of Economic Perspectives,
No. 3,
2014
Abstract
An optimal pace of business dynamics—encompassing the processes of entry, exit, expansion, and contraction—would balance the benefits of productivity and economic growth against the costs to firms and workers associated with reallocation of productive resources. It is difficult to prescribe what the optimal pace should be, but evidence accumulating from multiple datasets and methodologies suggests that the rate of business startups and the pace of employment dynamism in the US economy has fallen over recent decades and that this downward trend accelerated after 2000. A critical factor in accounting for the decline in business dynamics is a lower rate of business startups and the related decreasing role of dynamic young businesses in the economy. For example, the share of US employment accounted for by young firms has declined by almost 30 percent over the last 30 years. These trends suggest that incentives for entrepreneurs to start new firms in the United States have diminished over time. We do not identify all the factors underlying these trends in this paper but offer some clues based on the empirical patterns for specific sectors and geographic regions.
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Zehn Fragen zur Deutschen Einheit
Gerhard Heimpold
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 3,
2014
Abstract
Internationale Medien haben ein anhaltend großes Interesse an den wirtschaftlichen Entwicklungen nach der Herstellung der Einheit Deutschlands. Dies gilt in spezieller Weise für Südkorea, das die Erfahrung eines geteilten Landes mit Deutschland gemeinsam hat. Dort wird der 25. Jahrestag des Mauerfalls zum Anlass genommen, über die deutsche Entwicklung zu berichten und wenn möglich für die Zukunft des eigenen Landes Lehren zu ziehen. Am 20. März 2014 wurde Dr. Gerhard Heimpold, kommissarischer Leiter der Abteilung Strukturökonomik des IWH, von einem Team des Fernsehsenders „Korean Broadcasting Systems“ (KBS), einem öffentlich-rechtlichen Fernsehsender in der Republik Korea, zur Deutschen Einheit sowie zum wirtschaftlichen Aufholprozess der Neuen Länder und speziell Sachsen-Anhalts interviewt. Eine Schriftfassung dieses Gesprächs wird nachfolgend wiedergegeben.
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Establishment Survival in East and West Germany: A Comparative Analysis
Daniel Fackler
Schmollers Jahrbuch,
No. 2,
2014
Abstract
Anhand umfangreicher administrativer Daten vergleicht diese Studie die Entwicklung der Überlebenschancen neu gegründeter Betriebe in West- und Ostdeutschland für die Jahre 1994 bis 2008. Eine zentrale Frage lautet dabei, ob eine Angleichung der Überlebensraten zwischen West- und Ostdeutschland zu beobachten ist. Anhand von Methoden der Verweildaueranalyse kommt die Studie zu dem Ergebnis, dass sich die Überlebenschancen neu gegründeter Betriebe zu Beginn des Beobachtungszeitraums nicht stark zwischen West- und Ostdeutschland unterscheiden. In den Jahren 1998 und 1999 steigt die Schließungswahrscheinlichkeit in Ostdeutschland stark an, in Westdeutschland jedoch nicht, was vermutlich auf eine Änderung der Subventionspolitik für Betriebe in Ostdeutschland zurückzuführen ist. Seit der Jahrtausendwende nimmt der Unterschied in den Schließungswahrscheinlichkeiten zwischen West- und Ostdeutschland ab, was auf eine Angleichung der Überlebenschancen hindeutet.
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On the Stability of Preferences: Repercussions of Entrepreneurship on Risk Attitudes
Matthias Brachert, Walter Hyll
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 5,
2014
Abstract
The majority of empirical studies make use of the assumption of stable preferences in searching for a relationship between risk attitude and the decision to become and stay an entrepreneur. Yet empirical evidence on this relationship is limited. In this paper, we show that entry into entrepreneurship itself plays a decisive role in shaping risk preferences. We find that becoming self-employed is indeed associated with a relative increase in risk attitudes, an increase that is quantitatively large and significant even after controlling for individual characteristics, different employment status, and duration of entrepreneurship. The findings suggest that studies assuming that risk attitudes are stable over time suffer from reverse causality; risk attitudes do not remain stable over time, and individual preferences change endogenously.
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Do Better Capitalized Banks Lend Less? Long-run Panel Evidence from Germany
Claudia M. Buch, Esteban Prieto
International Finance,
No. 1,
2014
Abstract
Higher capital features prominently in proposals for regulatory reform. But how does increased bank capital affect business loans? The real costs of increased bank capital in terms of reduced loans are widely believed to be substantial. But the negative real-sector implications need not be severe. In this paper, we take a long-run perspective by analysing the link between the capitalization of the banking sector and bank loans using panel cointegration models. We study the evolution of the German economy for the past 44 years. Higher bank capital tends to be associated with higher business loan volume, and we find no evidence for a negative effect. This result holds both for pooled regressions as well as for the individual banking groups in Germany.
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Firm Leadership and the Gender Pay Gap: Do Active Owners Discriminate more than Hired Managers?
Boris Hirsch, Steffen Müller
Journal for Labour Market Research,
No. 1,
2014
Abstract
Auf Grundlage eines großen kombinierten Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Datensatzes für Deutschland untersuchen wir Unterschiede im unerklärten geschlechtsspezifischen Lohndifferential zwischen eigentümer- und managementgeführten Unternehmen. Wir stellen die Hypothese auf, dass sich aktiven Eigentümern und angestellten Managern unterschiedliche Spielräume zur Auslebung ihrer gewinnsenkenden diskriminatorischen Präferenzen eröffnen und sich daher die Lohndifferentiale zwischen eigentümer- und managementgeführten Unternehmen unterscheiden sollten. Empirisch finden wir statistisch wie ökonomisch signifikant höhere Lohndifferentiale in eigentümergeführten Unternehmen. Die Beschränkung der Stichproben auf hinreichend ähnliche eigentümer- und managementgeführte Unternehmen lässt diese markanten Unterschiede in den Lohndifferentialen jedoch verschwinden. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten daher nicht darauf hin, dass aktive Eigentümer per se mehr diskriminieren.
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Bewertung und Fehlbewertung von Mikrofinanzinstitutionen
R. H. Schmidt, Felix Noth
Rechnungslegung, Prüfung und Unternehmensbewertung: Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Wolfgang Ballwieser,
2014
Abstract
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Banking Market Competition, Opaque Firms, and the Reallocation Component of Aggregate Growth
R. Inklaar, Michael Koetter, Felix Noth
Abstract
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Start-up Competitions as an Instrument of Entrepreneurship Policy: The German Experience
Michael Schwartz, Maximilian Göthner, Claus Michelsen, N. Waldmann
European Planning Studies,
No. 10,
2013
Abstract
The number of aspiring entrepreneurs in high-tech industries who successfully complete the transition from a nascent start-up project towards an operational new venture is comparatively low in Germany. Since the mid-1990s, policy-makers have initiated numerous start-up competitions (SUCs or business plan competitions) to facilitate this important step in the venture creation process. SUCs have two key objectives. They are aimed at increasing start-up activity by motivating potential entrepreneurs, while they should also help to increase the likelihood of subsequent entrepreneurial success through providing necessary entrepreneurial skills to prospective entrepreneurs. With our explorative study, we provide the first comprehensive empirical evidence from a cross-sectional survey of existing SUCs in Germany. Overall, 71 SUCs are identified which are analysed regarding their development, regional distribution, and main structural characteristics. Finally, we outline an agenda of future research questions concerning the effectiveness and efficiency of SUCs as an instrument of entrepreneurship policy.
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Establishment Exits in Germany: The Role of Size and Age
Daniel Fackler, Claus Schnabel, J. Wagner
Small Business Economics,
No. 3,
2013
Abstract
Using comprehensive data for West Germany, this paper investigates the determinants of establishment exit. We find that between 1975 and 2006 the average exit rate has risen considerably. In order to test various “liabilities” of establishment survival identified in the literature, we analyzed the impact of establishment size and put a special focus on differences between young and mature establishments. Our empirical analysis shows that the mortality risk falls with establishment size, which confirms the liability of smallness. The probability of exit is substantially higher for young establishments which are not more than 5 years old, thus confirming the liability of newness. There also exists a liability of aging since exit rates first decline over time, reaching a minimum at ages 15–18, and then rise again somewhat. The determinants of exit differ substantially between young and mature establishments, suggesting that young establishments are more vulnerable in a number of ways.
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