Explaining recent trends in U.K. new firm formation rates: Evidence from two surveys in South Hampshire

The paper contributes to the debate on the reasons for the increase in business start-ups in the UK since the late 1970s. It compares the results of a survey of new manufacturing firms started since 1979 in South Hampshire with a previously conducted survey of firms started between 1976 and 1979. The study provides partial support for the recession-push explanation: the post-1979 cohort contained a higher proportion of firms started by founders who were unemployed/redundant, although there was no evidence to support other aspects of the recession-push explanation. The study fails to support structural change explanations. In addition, there was no evidence that government assistance to small businesses had been a significant factor in the formation of the post-1979 cohort of new businesses.