What Do Small Businesses Do?

Erik Hurst and Benjamin Pugsley

No 17041, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In this paper, we show that most small business owners are very different from the entrepreneurs that economic models and policy makers often have in mind. Using new data that samples early stage entrepreneurs just prior to business start up, we show that few small businesses intend to bring a new idea to market. Instead, most intend to provide an existing service to an existing market. Further, we find that most small businesses have little desire to grow big or to innovate in any observable way. We show that such behavior is consistent with the industry characteristics of the majority of small businesses, which are concentrated among skilled craftsmen, lawyers, real estate agents, doctors, small shopkeepers, and restaurateurs. Lastly, we show non pecuniary benefits (being one's own boss, having flexibility of hours, etc.) play a first-order role in the business formation decision. We then discuss how our findings suggest that the importance of entrepreneurial talent, entrepreneurial luck, and financial frictions in explaining the firm size distribution may be overstated. We conclude by discussing the potential policy implications of our findings.

JEL-codes: L21 L25 L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec and nep-ent
Note: CF EFG IO LS PE PR
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (390)

Published as Erik Hurst & Benjamin Wild Pugsley, 2011. "What do Small Businesses Do?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 43(2 (Fall)), pages 73-142.

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