Do we really know the number of small business starts?

The lack of accurate and complete data on business starts has hampered both the small business sector and the agencies that seek to assist that sector. The need for such information is being addressed by the small business database project of the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administrati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of small business management 1983-10, Vol.21 (4), p.44
Main Authors: Star, Alvin D, Narayana, Chem L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Censuses
Estimates
Retailing industry
Small business
Startups
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The lack of accurate and complete data on business starts has hampered both the small business sector and the agencies that seek to assist that sector. The need for such information is being addressed by the small business database project of the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA). However, some questions have been raised about the accuracy of this database. Five different estimates of the annual number of business starts in the US are examined. The projections made using Dun & Bradstreet and Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax data yield 4 different estimates that are compared to the conventional wisdom on the subject. The results obtained vary greatly, with 3 of the 4 methods used yielding totals exceeding the commonly accepted estimate of 400,000 starts per year. The 4th method is the one used by Dun & Bradstreet, and this is the primary source of data for the SBA database project. The reliability of this database thus remains to be seen.
ISSN:0047-2778
1540-627X