Entrepreneurial activity is a fundamental component of economic growth and development in the United States. States that experience increased entrepreneurial activity also see higher levels of overall economic growth. From a policy perspective, it is necessary to understand what is at the root of entrepreneurship. In this paper we closely examine six national indices that are often used as indicators of how “business friendly” a state is relative to its neighbors. We find that many of these indices are not useful in explaining the variation of entrepreneurial activity among the 50 US states.

Citation (Chicago Style).

VanMetre, Benjamin J. and Joshua C. Hall. 2011. "How Friendly to Entrepreneurs are "Business Friendly" Policies? Some Preliminary Results." The Journal of Business and Economic Perspectives. Vol. 28, No. 1:105-116.