Growthology

Job Growth at the "Best Companies"

This is a terrific and interesting visualization by Nicolas Rapp, done for Fortune's article on the 100 Best Companies to Work For:

For those of us who try to figure out what new and young companies contribute to the economy in terms of job creation, this is another useful reminder that large companies matter, too. These 100 companies, representing one-ten-thousandth of all companies in the US, employ 1.1 percent of the American workforce. I cannot tell if this really only counts US employees, because we know Microsoft, among others, has many employees overseas. 

In any case, it is an interesting chart for seeing existing employment and where people have applied for jobs: 7.6 million job applications at Starbucks last year!

Today's Readings Relevant to Entrepreneurship

The intersection between tight labor markets, housing costs, and the opportunity cost of entrepreneurship: Free Exchange. The work by Fairlie and Chatterji that Ryan cites here is terrifically important and has not gotten nearly enough attention.

Why is carried interest taxed as it is? Observational Epidemiology. 

What the studies say about private equity. Dealbook (via Marginal Revolution). Tyler sums it up: "'Some positives, lots of uncertainty' would be a good description of the available evidence."

Brad Feld on the intra-metropolitan geography of entrepreneurship. We probably need some new mapping tools. Feld Thoughts.

As an aside, I completely agree with Brad that "entrepreneurial density" is a good measure of a region's culture of entrepreneurship, but I don't know if we can yet measure it precisely. For one thing, we need to agree on a common definition of entrepreneurship. Then we need to figure out how to count it--government data are not entirely helpful here. Then we need to figure out what it means. One of our research assistants has been looking over Business Dynamics Statistics data on employment in young firms as a share of total employment in each state over the past three decades. We will post some charts and findings soon, but as the data relate, so far, to existing literature, I am reminded of The Princess Bride:

Vizzini: "He didn't fall? INCONCEIVABLE!"

Inigo Montoya: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

(h/t to PK for the reminder of this pricelessly fungible line the other day)

President Obama Promotes Entrepreneurship

In case you missed it, here is President Obama in the State of the Union speech last night, underscoring the important role of entrepreneurs:

It means we should support everyone who’s willing to work, and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs. After all, innovation is what America has always been about. Most new jobs are created in start-ups and small businesses. So let’s pass an agenda that helps them succeed. Tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow.

This may have been a reference to the Startup Act, versions of which have been introduced in both the House and Senate. Even so, any mention by the president of the vital role that new companies play in economic growth is noteworthy, especially because, as many claim, public celebration of entrepreneurs is an important cultural attribute.