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The Role of Corporate Taxes in the Decline of the Startup Rate

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  • Neira, Julian
  • Singhania, Rish

Abstract

The business startup rate in the United States has exhibited a large secular decline in recent decades. The reasons behind the decline are not well understood. This paper hypothesizes that the startup rate declined in large part because corporate taxes raised the opportunity cost of entrepreneurship. We formalize this thesis using a model of occupational choice that features firm entry and exit. Quantitatively, the model accounts for much of the decline in the startup rate. Taxes alone account for one-fifth of the decline. Cross-sectoral patterns in US data support our results.

Suggested Citation

  • Neira, Julian & Singhania, Rish, 2017. "The Role of Corporate Taxes in the Decline of the Startup Rate," MPRA Paper 81662, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:81662
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    Cited by:

    1. Hugo Hopenhayn & Julian Neira & Rish Singhania, 2022. "From Population Growth to Firm Demographics: Implications for Concentration, Entrepreneurship and the Labor Share," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(4), pages 1879-1914, July.
    2. Satyajit Chatterjee & Burcu Eyigungor, 2023. "The Firm Size-Leverage Relationship and Its Implications for Entry and Business Concentration," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 48, pages 132-157, April.
    3. Andrea Colciago & Vivien Lewis & Branka Matyska, 2023. "Corporate taxes, productivity, and business dynamism," Working Papers 512, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised May 2023.
    4. Neira, Julian & Singhania, Rish, 2020. "Quantifying the Effect of Corporate Taxes on the Life Cycle of Firms," MPRA Paper 99359, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Colciago, Andrea & Lewis, Vivien & Matyska, Branka, 2023. "Corporate taxes, productivity, and business dynamism," Discussion Papers 16/2023, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    6. Satyajit Chatterjee & Burcu Eyigungor, 2019. "The Firm Size and Leverage Relationship and Its Implications for Entry and Concentration in a Low Interest Rate World," 2019 Meeting Papers 1041, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Andrea Colciago & Vivien Lewis & Branka Matyska, 2023. "Corporate taxes, productivity, and business dynamism," Working Papers 780, DNB.
    8. Sedlacek, Petr & Sterk, Vincent, 2019. "Reviving american entrepreneurship? tax reform and business dynamism," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 94-108.
    9. Satyajit Chatterjee & Burcu Eyigungor, 2023. "The Firm Size-Leverage Relationship and Its Implications for Entry and Business Concentration," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 48, pages 132-157, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm Entry; Startups; Corporate Taxes; Declining Business Dynamism; Occupational Choice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations
    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

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