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Week of February 11 - 17, 2008 |
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A Glimpse at the President's Budget Plan Last week, President Bush presented his final budget plan (for Fiscal Year 2009). As usual, the President’s plan is the first gambit in what will likely be a protracted battle over Federal spending priorities. Budget experts expect a prolonged debate that may even drag into 2009, when a new President enters office. Nonetheless, it’s helpful to examine the budget plan to get a good sense of current White House priorities. Here are a few highlights:
Access a copy of President Bush’s Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2009. |
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High Growth Entrepreneurs in the UK An interesting
series of new reports from Great Britain’s National Council for Graduate
Entrepreneurship assess the impact and motivations of Britain’s
high-growth entrepreneurs and their companies. The first survey examines
the backgrounds of the founders of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing
businesses. Seventy percent of these founders hold graduate degrees.
Among technology firms, 84% hold graduate degrees. A second survey
assesses the factors driving women to start their own companies. The
primary motivations were related to passion about the business, wanting
to make a difference, or desiring a more independent lifestyle. Money is
an important, but not overriding, concern for these women entrepreneurs.
Other factors, such as being one’s own boss, are more important than
financial considerations in terms of pushing women toward
entrepreneurial aspirations. A third survey catalogs the state of
entrepreneurship education in Britain’s higher education system. At
present, 127 higher educational institutions in the UK provide some sort
of entrepreneurship education programming and support. |
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How Well are SBA Programs Working?
FA new series of evaluations of leading
Small Business Administration (SBA) programs should help counter a
string of criticisms the agency has faced in recent years about the
about the quality and effectiveness of its programs. The evaluations,
led by researchers at the Urban Institute, assessed the performance of
key SBA programs, like the 7(a), 504 and microenterprise lending
programs. The evaluation team produced six reports on different aspects
of these programs. Their main conclusions were quite positive. SBA
programs generally do a good job of serving customers who cannot be
effectively supported by banks and other private financing sources.
These customers tend to be quite satisfied with SBA’s support, and, most
importantly, their firms showed performance gains after receiving SBA
assistance. |
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New Data on African-American Entrepreneurship
African-American entrepreneurs face a pretty
challenging set of circumstances when it comes to starting businesses
and accessing capital to start or grow a business. New research
sponsored by the US Census Bureau shows that African-Americans still lag
Caucasians in many categories of business ownership and growth. In 2000,
roughly 11.4% of white workers were self-employed, compared to only 4.8%
of African-American workers. Meanwhile, these African-American-owned
companies have lower sales, lower payrolls, and fewer employees than
White or Asian-owned firms. Not surprisingly, these firms are also less
profitable and more likely to close. The researchers contend that these
disparities result from a vicious cycle facing African-American
entrepreneurs. They tend to start with significantly lower levels of
wealth. This problem is further compounded by significant capital access
barriers facing these new business owners. Even when credit histories
and other factors are controlled, African-American business owners are
less likely to receive loans and more likely to avoid applying due to
fear of denial. The researchers conclude that policy makers must take a
variety of steps to reduce discrimination in credit markets. They also
support financial literacy and other business training programs for
aspiring business owners as well as new initiatives, such as first-time
home buyer support or individual development accounts (IDAs) that help
individuals build assets that can be used to support new business
ventures. |
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While
entrepreneurship continues to boom in China, the country has not been a
major player in the field of microfinance. Because of a legacy of tight
government regulation of financial markets, China has not developed a
home-grown microenterprise industry, especially in its more isolated
rural regions. A recent Knowledge@Wharton article examines the current
state of play. The basic challenge in China is that banks are often
unwilling to enter rural microfinance markets without clearer guidance
from the central government. At the same time, potential investors have
limited understanding of the potential size and profitability of the
rural marketplace. Two major players—the China Postal Savings and
Remittance Bureau, and the Agricultural Bank of China---could become
major forces in rural microfinance. However, both institutions would
require significant reforms in their operating procedures and business
strategies if they hope to succeed in this market niche. |
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The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. |
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National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
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All
stories © 2008 The Public Forum Institute
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