Growth in Concentration of U.S. Employment in Large Firms Source: US Small Business Administration

How large is large? Employment in very large firms Source: US Small Business Administration

How large is large? Employment in very large firms Source: US Small Business Administration

Multinationals continue to grow Top 2000 corporations’ share of the global economy (2010) Global revenues: $32 trillion (more than twice total US GDP), up from $19 trillion in 2003 Assets: $138 trillion (more than twice total US asset level of $60 trillion), up from $68 trillion in 2003 Global direct employment: 80 million (up from 64 million in 2003) (US-based multinationals alone had $10 trillion in revenues, assets of $33 trillion and 23 million employees). As of 2008, 33 million Americans worked for corporate employers, based in U.S. or abroad, with over 10,000 employees) Sources: Forbes (April 2004, April 2011), SBA 2008

If small businesses create most new jobs (and they do), why doesn’t sector’s share grow? Job destruction: Small business failure rate is high: according to one national study, of 100 start-ups in 1992, 29 were still in business as of SBA similarly estimates that only one in three businesses make it past 10 years. (Sources: Scott Shane, Case Western 2008, SBA) Acquisition: Small businesses are acquired by bigger businesses; indeed, the goal of many “serial entrepreneurs” is to sell the businesses they develop to larger businesses Growth: sometimes small businesses grow large enough to become big businesses (e.g., even Wal-Mart was once a small business)