Entrepreneurship over Time: Measures of Activity and Recent Changes in the US: 1993-2002

Data from three different research programs, all measuring the prevalence rate of newfirm creation in the US adult population, suggest that from 1993 to 2002 the level ofentrepreneurship may have increased up to three fold, from 4 to over 13 percent of those18-74 years of age--a shift from one in twenty adults to one in six adults. In 1993entrepreneurial activity was more prevalent than marriages or parenting, by 2001 it wastwice as common as marriages and parenting combined. Current evidence indicates thatthe high level of participation in start-ups in 1999-2002 was not reflected in the presenceof new firms, suggesting that a smaller proportion of start-ups made the transition to anoperating business. This may reflect a “rush to entrepreneur” among those withinsufficient preparation or resources to successfully launch a new firm...