Entrepreneurial Activity Remained Strong in 2007 With Major Shifts Among Men, Women and Immigrants, Says Kauffman Foundation Study

The rate of entrepreneurial activity among women dropped sharply in 2007 while the activity rate among men and immigrants surged, according to a national assessment of entrepreneurial activity by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.  Immigrants far outpaced native-born Americans in entrepreneurial activity, increasing from 0.37 percent in 2006 to 0.46 percent in 2007. Immigrants are now substantially more likely to start businesses than are native-born Americans, which remained constant at 0.27 percent. The entrepreneurial activity rate among Latinos increased from 0.33 percent in 2006 to 0.40 percent in 2007, the largest increase for any major ethnic or racial group.

“The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity remains the only study of its kind that provides states with some measurement for how their rate of business startups compare to the nation. Covering the past 12 years, this report has become an important tool for state and national economic leaders to gauge progress,” said Robert W. Fairlie, professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who developed the Kauffman Index.

KJ