An Analysis of Small Business Size and Rate of Discontinuance

Alfred R Nucci and Timothy Bates

Working Papers from U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Economic Studies

Abstract: This study investigates small business failure rates in relation to several measures of firm size. Utilizing the new Characteristics of Business Owners ( CBO ) data base, a nationwide sample of firms is utilized that is representative of the small business universe. One subset--small business employers--is shown to have relatively low rates of failure, while another group--very small firms with no employees--exhibits relatively high rates of business discontinuance. The finding that the probability of firm failure is strongly (inversely) related to firm size is shown to hold up as well when the age of the business is controlled for.

Keywords: CES; economic; research; micro; data; microdata; chief; economist (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1990-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cen:wpaper:90-2

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