Entrepreneurial Space and Enterprise Richness In a Group of U.S. Counties Before, During, and After Economic Turmoil

Abstract

The importance of economic diversity as a business measure prompted an investigation of the association between a period of economic turmoil (Great Recession) and the power law relationships of enterprise richness—a business diversity measure—and enterprise numbers—an expression of total entrepreneurship—in 22 U.S. counties. Before the onset of the turmoil from 2000–2007, the total enterprise numbers in the counties increased steadily. With the onset between 2008 and 2011, they declined sharply and thereafter from 2012–2016 continued decreasing slowly. However, enterprise richness–enterprise numbers relationships—expressed as power laws—were fairly stable before, during and after the turmoil. These power laws are apparently robust and not temporally sensitive. The power laws potentially provide predictive powers about different entrepreneurial typesin U.S. counties: that is, new, existing, and total entrepreneurship.

Keywords: U.S. counties, entrepreneurial space, enterprise dynamics, enterprise richness, economic turmoil, Great Recession