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show that new bus inesses are created at a faster rate in countr ies with good governance, a strong lega l and regulator y environment, low corporate taxes, and less red tape. The data a lso show that near ly a l l countr ies exper ienced a sharp drop in bus iness entr y dur ing the f inanc ia l cr i s i s. The dec l ine in new f irm creat ion was faster and more severe in countr ies h it harder by the cr i s i s. Entrepreneurial activity can help economic growth. For evidence of the economic power of entrepreneurship, we need look no further than the United States, where young firms have been shown to be a more important source of net job creation than incumbent firms (Haltiwanger, Jarmin, and Miranda 2009). As millions around the world feel the impact of the financial crisis through slower economic growth and job losses, understanding regulatory and policy con-straints on entrepreneurs wanting to start a for-mal business has never been more important. To measure entrepreneurial activity, a 2010 survey, the World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Snapshots (WBGES), has collected annual data directly from company registrars on the num-ber of newly registered firms over the period 2004–09. The 2010 WBGES builds on earlier editions of the data and incorporates improve-ments in methodology and data from more low-income countries, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa. This year 112 countries participated in the survey—the highest number yet—including 20 for the first time. The data can help answer such questions as these: ■ ■ What is the relationship between entrepre-neurship and the business environment and financial development? ■ ■ How much did the financial crisis affect entrepreneurial activity in the formal sector? ■ ■ What factors determine how severely the cri-sis affected new firm creation? The main variable of interest is entry density, defined as the number of newly registered cor