Chapter 1 Innovative Entrepreneurship and Policy: Toward Initiation and Preservation of Growth

Abstract A wide range of United States political policies influence the level of innovative entrepreneurial activity in the country, that is the number of new busi-nesses started each year that bring truly new products and ideas to the market. These policies begin with an educational system that fosters a creative, inventive, and educated population with the skills to start new businesses. Immigration policies, too, contribute to an entrepreneurial population by welcoming additional talent. The government also plays an important role in creating incentives for the utilization and commercialization of new products, from rights of property and contract that protect new businesses and patent laws that protect new ideas without creating roadblocks to further innovation, to tax policies that focus on consumption rather than income. Finally, the government can mitigate disincentives for starting new businesses, such as an employer-based health system that discourages potential entrepreneurs from leaving their employment, overly onerous regulations that create burdens for young and small businesses, and a litigious environment that creates more risk for new businesses than is necessary to protect consumers. 1.