entrepreneurship

A company’s decision to “go public” and move forward with an initial public offering of stock, or IPO, is typically driven by the desire to raise capital and expand its business. The company’s shares are then publicly traded on the market, and its management becomes responsible to shareholders. But as Facebook’s May 2012 IPO showed, the early days of issuing stock can often be rocky, and history suggests that early IPOs and the performance of new shares are frequently plagued by a number of variables.

The rise in global competition between nations has highlighted the importance of research and development spending for fostering economic growth and development.

The financial crisis of 2007-08 resulted in widespread job losses, and the task of recovery has proven to be difficult. While the importance of entrepreneurship is well established in economic theory as well as political discourse, there has been a long-term decline in the number of jobs created by newly established firms in the United States.

Retaining college graduates is widely thought to be an important part of how cities and regions maintain their competitive edge — the theory is that more educated workers means greater human capital, which leads to economic growth. Although data has been compiled on educational attainment by many states and regions, there has not been sustained research on the impact that colleges and universities have.

Given the nearly 2,000-mile border shared by the United States and Mexico — and the sharp differences in economic opportunity that each country offers — it is perhaps no surprise that Mexicans make up the largest immigrant group in America.