NEWSRELEASE
For Release: August 14, 2008 Making The Best Use Of Employer, Non-Employer Data Combining Size Classes And Definitions Can Skew Research
Results
Contact: John McDowell, (202) 205-6941
SBA Number: 08-21 ADVO
Press Kit
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mixing employer and non-employer data has a direct bearing on small business study results, according to researchers at the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. They based their findings on examination of special tabulations from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2002 Survey of Business Owners. These tabulations, comparing non-employer and employer firms across a variety of firm and owner characteristics, appeared in a working paper released today.
“Business definitions have always been tricky for researchers,” said Brian Headd, economist for the Office of Advocacy and co-author of the working paper. “It’s hard to determine what counts as a business. For instance, is there a minimum employee or revenue requirement, a length of time in business, or a contribution to owners income? He added, “Definitions are often based on convenience, such as what data is available to the researcher.”
Co-authored by Brian Headd and Radwan Saade, economists at the Office of Advocacy, the working paper Do Business Definition Decisions Distort Small Business Research Results, closely examines the differences between employer and non-employer businesses and the relation those differences have to research results.
“Researchers need to be mindful about which sub-groups of businesses they are studying,” said Saade. “The results may not be applicable to other sub-groups or small businesses as a whole.” He noted that, “This is especially important in policymaking, where what appears to work for all businesses may in fact not work for non-employers or vice-versa.”
The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.
For more information and a complete copy of the report and data tables, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.
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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit
www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.