While much of the literature on new firm formation in the 1980s was motivated by high levels of unemployment, much of the focus on new firm start-ups today is motivated by high-technology. Using a new database we examine the role of human capital, training and education, and entrepreneurial environment on new firm formation. We find significant differences in new firm formation rates from indus...

The statistical observation that small firms have created the majority of new jobs during the 1980s has had a tremendous influence on public policy. Governments have looked to the small firm sector for employment growth, and have promoted policies to augment this expansion. However, recent research in the US suggests that net job creation in the small firm sector may have been overestimated, re...