From Shark Tank to Silicon Valley, Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg, and Uber to Airbnb, entrepreneurship has never been as highly regarded in pop culture as it is now. Entrepreneurship and firm dynamism are critical for innovation, meaningful employment and a higher quality of life for all Americans. But entrepreneurship is not thriving — at least not yet.
Research indicates that the number of new firms each year has been declining for decades, and the decline only accelerated during the Great Recession. Even with a modest recent uptick, our economy is now following a trend where the rate of business creation in the United States is about half of what it was in the 1980s. The decline in startups – coupled with the concentration of power in a small number of large firms – creates a less dynamic economy.
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