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Research Issues
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Research on crowdfunding has traditionally focused on startups during a crowdfunding campaign, leaving fairly little information on what happens to them afterward. This dearth of information is important as policymakers aim to understand the...
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The STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—are the source of tangible innovations in products and processes that help to spur economic growth. Though many of these advances may occur in established organizations, radical...
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The Office of Advocacy released the Annual Report of the Office of Economic Research, FY 2015. This report details 26 OER publications and eight Small Business Economic Research Forums that were produced during fiscal year 2015. This year, OER...
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Income and Net Worth of Veteran Business Owners over the Business Cycle, 2007–2013 examines the changing financial health of veterans during the recent recession and recovery. In general, veteran households with small businesses were wealthier than...
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Periodically, we present these one-pagers to focus on one specific small business issue. These facts enable small business champions and others to better understand the plight of small businesses.
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The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) may be the largest change in U.S. patent policy in over half a century. Among other things, the AIA shifts the U.S. patenting system from a first-to-invent (FTI) to a first-inventor-to-file (FITF)...
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Advocacy’s Issue Briefs provide timely and concise information on important small business economic issues. These briefs are relevant to small business researchers, policymakers and decision leaders as well as stakeholders involved in small...
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Small Business Lending in the United States is an annual report which uses the principal public sources of information on U.S. lenders to analyze key lending trends and to evaluate individual lenders’ emphasis on small business lending. Data used in...
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This study focuses on the changing financial health of veterans during recent economic cycles. It examines the changes from 1989 to 2010, a period covering several economic expansions and contractions, for all veteran and non-veteran households and...
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While accelerator programs have been around for almost a decade, their more recent successes have catalyzed a surge in their popularity among investors and entrepreneurs. Given the potential for these programs to grow scalable high-value startups...
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While it is generally understood that a gender gap exists in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, less research has been done on women entrepreneurs in the STEM fields. This report expands on the limited literature specific to...
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Advocacy's two-pager of charts and tables uses economic variables to show the status of small business.
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The economic condition of small businesses in the United States is captured in the latest edition of the Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories. This annual publication from the Office of Advocacy provides information on the...
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This Congressionally mandated report, Evaluation of the Small Business Procurement Goals Established in Section 15(g) of the Small Business Act: A Report Pursuant to Section 1631(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, was written by...
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This research study by Bradley T. Heim explores almost 20 years of U.S. Census Bureau data from 1994-2012 to identify why self-employment rates at older ages have declined over time. Both demographic and policy factors are explored.
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A key purpose of this study is to provide important information about any differences in the experience of veterans and non-veterans in business creation and management and to assess whether such differences have changed over time.
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This report analyzes what factors, including business credit scores, may explain credit outcomes (approvals or denials) for small businesses. It further asks what role business credit scores might play in the credit outcomes of women- and minority-...
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Crossing the Employer Threshold: Determinants of Firms Hiring Their First Employee, a report by Robert W. Fairlie, analyzes the factors that lead new businesses without employees to hire their first employee; this is a significant aspect of small...
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As the popularity of online shopping has grown, states have seen their sales tax revenues drop. The Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot require a company to collect sales tax on transactions with their residents when the company has no...
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Tax expenditures are provisions in the tax law designed to benefit specific groups of taxpayers. They are similar to spending programs but generally do not involve direct federal outlays. Rather, they work through the income tax system, taking the...
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This annual report reviews the small business lending activities of institutional depository lenders, including commercial and cooperative banks, federal and state savings banks, and savings and loan associations. The lenders are ranked on their...
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The purpose of the research study on states’ regulatory flexibility activity was to evaluate to what extent states went to mitigate the impact of state regulations on small businesses. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) at the federal level...
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In this research study, Martin Kenney and Donald Patton explore the network of support for gazelles that take their companies public through initial public offerings (IPOs). This entrepreneurial support network, or ESN, is comprised of law firms,...
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This study investigates whether the age of a business is linked to innovation and productivity, specifically whether young firms have an edge on older firms. Previous research on innovation has shown that small businesses are more efficient at...
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The number of minority-oriented equity capital funds grew significantly during the period of the 1990s. Early financial performance was positive; but more recently, these funds have invested in fewer minority-owned businesses and have increased...
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The Office of Advocacy is often asked if there is a noticeable difference in the RFA compliance patterns of independent agencies compared with executive-branch agencies. Independent federal agencies are subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act,...
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According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the Great Recession commenced in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. This research examines whether observable differences in patent behavior between small and large firms occur during...
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This study surveys university scientists about their entrepreneurial activities, employing a database of scientists funded by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
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The availability of capital is crucial for small business startup, survival, and growth. This study investigates how the youngest small firms, especially high-tech firms and firms owned by women and minorities, were financed during the evolving...
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Entrepreneurs need access to financial capital to fund their ventures, and those with marketable products may seek financing from venture capital (VC) firms. This study focuses on women entrepreneurs’ access to equity funding and the influence of...
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A dramatic drop in U.S. exports during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and Great Recession stimulated interest in investigating the relationship between trade finance and small business exports. This research examines how and why the tightening of...
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This research report is written by Timothy Bates, Alicia Robb, and Simon Parker (Beacon Economics LLC). The study identifies some of the factors that predict growth among startups and very young ventures and provides insights into small firm growth...
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This publication profiles the 2012 Advocacy research reports, publications, conferences, data, and research functions.
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This study examines the differences in small business owners’ and private sector workers’ retirement planning patterns. It compares the retirement assets they hold and looks at such measures of financial viability as wealth and home equity with...
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This report, by Tami Gurley-Calvez, Kandice Kapinos, and Donald Bruce, examines the retirement savings decisions of small business owners and employees who are nearing retirement age, with a focus on the effect of economic downturns. The data cover...
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The study by Rebel Cole, uses data from numerous sources from the period 1994-2011 to analyze bank lending to U.S. firms. The study finds that bank lending to U.S. businesses declined significantly following the crisis, the decline hit small firms...
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This report is an update to Advocacy’s annual publication that provides information on the lending activities of depository institutions in the United States. The U.S. economy continued to recover and improved moderately during the second half of...
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Part of the Office of Advocacy’s mission is to conduct, sponsor, and promote economic research that provides an environment for small business growth. This page displays a matrix of Advocacy’s research products from 2008 to 2011 and the issue areas...
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This study by Eagle Eye Publishers documents the role and impact of federal procurement programs on small businesses. It further provides a backdrop to evaluate the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the ARRA, the...
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The importance of immigrant entrepreneurs to the U.S. economy has been very well documented in Advocacy studies and elsewhere in the economic literature. They contribute greatly to the economy, have high business formation rates, and create...
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Small firms view a vigorous anti-cartel policy as a desirable feature of a state’s law enforcement profile.
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Entrepreneurship, economic growth, and unemployment are interrelated: exactly how is the subject of this research.
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Businesses owned by veterans and by service-disabled veterans have been the subject of a special research effort by the U. S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy since the enactment of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business...
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For the past 30 years, the Office of Advocacy has produced a series of annual reports on American small businesses titled, from 1982 to 2000, The State of Small Business and from 2001 to the present, The Small Business Economy. This is a rich...
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Advocacy’s Small Business Data Resources is a listing of online databases by federal agency or private sector source and topic. The listed databases are hotlinked to their websites and keyed to the small-business-related topics on which they provide...
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The study examines the impact of small business activity by industry on overall state economic growth. A few studies have focused on the impact of small business in general at the state level, but their results make it clear that the differing...
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U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of the goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States. This research takes each component of private nonfarm GDP and estimates the proportions produced by small...
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This publication profiles the 2011 Advocacy research reports, publications, conferences, data, and research functions.
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Small innovative firms are 16 times more productive than large innovative firms in terms of patents per employee, and the patents of small firms were cited 79 percent more by recent patents than is typical for other patents of the same age and...
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The Quarterly Lending Bulletin (pdf) for the second quarter, 2011, presents a brief analysis of the current small business lending situation and shows a drop in loans outstanding to small businesses.
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The primary goal of this report is to place gender in a broader perspective. Business ownership no longer can be analyzed simply on the basis of the owner’s gender; businesses owned by women and men more and more share the same general development...
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State and national data for banks and credit unions for 1986-2010 show credit unions may have provided extra business lending in response to reductions in bank lending. Full Report in PDF format Research Summary in PDF format
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This study investigates health care coverage provided by small firms and the effects of state and federal tax incentives on health insurance availability.
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State and national data for banks and credit unions for 1986-2010 show credit unions may have provided extra business lending in response to reductions in bank lending.
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Federal regulations of all types weigh heavily on American small businesses, but the burden of complying with federal income tax requirements is of particular concern. A 2009 Congressional Research Service report notes that the burden of complying...
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The Small Business Quarterly Bulletin is a brochure-style publication that contains commentary and analysis on the current employment and financing trends of small businesses.
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A previous Advocacy-funded study from Corporate Research Board, High-Impact Firms: Gazelles Revisited, found that fast-growing or high-impact companies were a main contributor to new jobs. In light of the current need for a growing labor market, a...
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A previous Advocacy-funded study from Corporate Research Board, High-Impact Firms: Gazelles Revisited, found that fast-growing or high-impact companies were a main contributor to new jobs. In light of the current need for a growing labor market, a...
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Recognizing the vital role that women-owned businesses play in the American economy, Advocacy conducts research on businesses owned by women and other demographic groups using the most comprehensive government datasets as they become available.
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We know from previous Advocacy-sponsored research and more than three decades of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that year in and year out veterans have a consistently higher rate of self-employment than non-veterans. Why is this? The...
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The U. S. bankruptcy system is designed to recover funds for creditors while giving bankrupt small businesses an opportunity for a “fresh start.” While a fresh start is a goal of the system, little analysis has been done to evaluate the ability of...
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This study examines the estimates for IRS enforcement and legislative activities with respect to small businesses, the weakness of the estimates relating to large corporations and taxpayers involved in international transactions, and possible...
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The study,Lending by Depository Lenders to Small Businesses, 2003 to 2010, looks at small business lending in the context of an economy that has endured a deep recession and appears poised for recovery. It relies on data based on reports provided by...
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The study,Lending by Depository Lenders to Small Businesses, 2003 to 2010, looks at small business lending in the context of an economy that has endured a deep recession and appears poised for recovery. It relies on data based on reports provided by...
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Regional variations in entrepreneurship have important implications for regional development, since entrepreneurs play a crucial role in bringing new ideas to the market which can benefit all firms in a community. It highlights regional differences...
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This study looks at workers’ access to and partici- pation in retirement plans offered by their employers using data from the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) wave, which was conducted in 2006. In particular, it examines these...
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Analysis of the survey data indicate that immigrants play an important role in founding high-impact, high-tech companies in the United States. About 16 percent of the companies in the nationally representative sample have at least one immigrant...
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The Office of Advocacy has funded several studies that examine the patent activity of small businesses (e.g., Breitzman and Hicks, 2008; CHI Research, 2002, 2004; and Eckhardt and Shane, 2006 to list a few). All show that small businesses...
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This contract research report, Are Planners Doers? Pre-Venture Planning and the Start-Up Behaviors of Entrepreneurs in the PSED, explores the relationship of business planning to the general activity levels of nascent entrepreneurs.
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Each year the Office of Advocacy examines issues relevant to small businesses in the U.S. economy. This report summarizes the publications generated by independent contractors, as well as by staff economists of the Office of Economic Research in...
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This paper outlines the most important issues and opportunities facing small business owners and entrepreneurs in this election year. While it does not delve into policy solutions, the next administration will almost certainly need to address many...
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The choice of business definition at the outset of research can drive results. Pooling different kinds of businesses allows nonemployer businesses (which are numerous and small) to overwhelm employer businesses (whose numbers are far fewer, but...
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The study compares the number of new small firm hires and their comparative wages with the number and comparative wages of new large firm hires using the Current Population Surveys for May 1983, 1998, and April 1993.
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The National Survey of Small Business Finances (NSSBF) was used to empirically test the interest rate model for this study, and direct evidence of the importance of relationships was solicited from firms.
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The report attempts to identify the most important provisions in states' unemployment compensation and workers' compensation laws that can significantly affect costs to employers.
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This research aims to use the empirical model developed in The Differential Impact of State-Local Tax Incentives in Small Versus Large Firms to examine the comparative impact of a federal consumption-based tax on the distribution of state and local...
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The financing issues faced by small exporters, including availability of trade financing and costs associated with financing and payment settlement is examined in this study.
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This research identifies differences in foreign patenting by small and large firms by using a data set of matched pairs of small and large business patents.
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The focus of this report is on small franchise businesses and independent non-franchise businesses created in 1986 and 1987. The study tracks and compares the survival patterns of the two groups through late 1991.
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This study examines several dimensions of the proposition that small businesses are treated unequally by business tax structures at the state and local levels.
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This study extends an earlier research effort, "Pension Funds and Small Firm Financing" (See Research Summary no.153 February 1995), which explored public pension fund investment in small business in 1992 by state.The study closely examines those...
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The aim of this study is to review the literature to ascertain best principles and practices in technology transfer to small manufacturing firms.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the issues associated with electric power deregulation and restructuring for their potential impact on small business.
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Based on a rigorous research design and high quality longitudinal data, the study seeks to determine the factors that differentiate surviving franchise systems from those that cease operations.
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The research includes a series of case studies of Electronic data interchange in the retail sector, in health care networks, among firms in international trade, and in one Department of Defense installation.
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The study (Part II) provides tabulations and analyses of health insurance and pensions by employment status and firm size, as well as economic and demographic characteristics for both wage-and-salary workers (by firm size) and the self-employed, ...
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The Current Population Survey (CPS) of January 1991 is used to analyze the current employment shift toward higherskill jobs, and the extent of small businesses' participation in this shift, and the wage benefits by firm size to employees...
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The study measured workers' compensation burden by firm size for the nation and for all states, during the period 1990 to 1992.
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This report provides an overview of the tax rules and tax considerations affecting corporations.
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This study identified the types and dollar amounts of investment being made in small businesses through economically targeted investments programs from public pension funds.
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This study is an extension of earlier research and adds the experiences of entrepreneurship entry and exit of young entrepreneurs by gender, race and educational background.
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The study focused on the earnings of women who reported that they were selfemployed in their own incorporated or unincorporated businesses and compares their earnings with those of selfemployed men for the 1990 census year.
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This study examines environmental financial responsibility programs to determine what problems they pose for small businesses and whether they can be redesigned.
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The research focused on four areas: (1) sources small businesses receive information from, (2) why information needed, (3) how useful was the information received, and (4) importantance to the small business owner or manager.
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The objective of this research was to estimate the effects of reductions in small business employment for the period 1992 to 1999 that result from cuts in defense expenditures for payrolls and procurement.
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This research determines whether environmental regulations favor large existing manufacturers at the expense of small new manufacturers.
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This study: (1) evaluates alternative data sources that can be used to produce estimates of the number of the uninsured by firm size, and (2) focuses on the March Current Population Surveys from 1988 to 1992 to obtain estimates of the insured and...
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Data on employers and associated business characteristics are available from the Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB), Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS), and Business Employment Dynamics (BED) programs and data on nonemployers is available from the...
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The SBA Office of Advocacy held a symposium called "Small Business Capital Crunch: Debt and Equity" on September 15 at the Senate Visitors Center. Click on the url above to read about it.
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