As a leading funder of economic research through the lens of entrepreneurship and education, the Kauffman Foundation compiles summaries of findings around relevant policy issues that will inform and educate lawmakers.

Note: An erratum to this report was published August 27, 2014. The initial report was inaccurate in stating that there is not reciprocity between the Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) and the Kansas City Public School Retirement System (KC).The correction also examines rigidities in the transfer agreement that cause educators to face significant pension […]

Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging & the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Contrary to popular perception, entrepreneurship is not exclusive to the young and hip. With that message, Kauffman Foundation Vice President of Research and Policy, Dane Stangler, provided testimony to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging & […]

This white paper shows sustained declines in business dynamism across a wide swath of the U.S. economy, including the high-tech sector that has been critical for sparking economic growth in recent decades.

This study found that the public sector can affect few significant factors to encourage entrepreneurship except education.

Although the United States’ economic upturn remains modest, two indicators from the second annual Kauffman Foundation/LegalZoom survey of entrepreneurs indicated greater confidence in 2013. Small business owners reported lenders providing increased access to credit over the last 12 months, and a greater willingness from the entrepreneurs themselves to put personal savings toward new business ventures. […]

Buoyed by belief in an improving economy, the nation’s newest business owners’ confidence leapt in the fourth-quarter 2013 Kauffman/LegalZoom Startup Confidence Index.

This paper, released at the first-ever Mayors Conference during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013, reports on federal government data – available to the public for the first time – on business startups at the metropolitan area level. By decomposing into four population size classes, the report can provide more effective peer-to-peer comparisons of Metropolitan Statistical Areas […]

The purpose of this document is to provide instructions to the KFS users regarding the proper use of the KFS multiply imputed data to draw statistically valid inferences in their works. Also, it describes the general framework of the imputation process.

This paper, released at the first-ever Mayors Conference during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013, discusses the importance of cultural entrepreneurs, particularly since the Great Recession. Author Ann Markusen of the University of Minnesota provides concrete steps that mayors and the public sector can follow to promote cultural entrepreneurship. Economists and city planners increasingly have documented the […]