Past Experience and Future Success: New Evidence on Owner Characteristics and Firm Performance

25 Pages Posted: 9 Oct 2010

See all articles by Ron S. Jarmin

Ron S. Jarmin

U.S. Census Bureau

C. J. Krizan

Government of the United States of America - Bureau of the Census

Date Written: September 1, 2010

Abstract

Because the ability of entrepreneurs to start their own businesses is key to the success of the U.S. economy and to the economic mobility of many disadvantaged demographic groups, understanding why entrepreneurship activity varies across groups and geography is an increasingly important issue. As a step in this direction we employ a novel set of metrics of business success to the growing literature and find great variation across groups and metrics. For example, we find that black-owned firms grow slower than white or Asian-owned firms. However, once we condition on firm survival, the differences disappear. Interestingly, we also find differences across groups in their start-up histories. For example, Asian-owned firms are less likely than white-owned firms to have started-out as nonemployers but firms owned by all other minority groups, as well as women-owned firms, are more likely to start-out without employees.

Suggested Citation

Jarmin, Ron S. and Krizan, C. J., Past Experience and Future Success: New Evidence on Owner Characteristics and Firm Performance (September 1, 2010). US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies Paper No. CES-WP-10-24, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1688326 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1688326

Ron S. Jarmin

U.S. Census Bureau ( email )

4700 Silver Hill Road
Washington, DC 20233
United States

C. J. Krizan (Contact Author)

Government of the United States of America - Bureau of the Census ( email )

Suitland Federal Center
Washington, DC 20233
United States

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