Business Friendliness and Small Firm Characteristics

In this study, we examine whether small firm characteristics in business-friendly U.S. states differ from those of other less business-friendly states. For this purpose, we employ a national survey titled the “Unitics such as “ease of start”, “ease of hire”, “overall regulations”, and “training and networking programs”. Our results show that, in comparison to other states, there are fewer firms that operate in more than five states in business-friendly states. Again, in these states, there are fewer firms with a single employee but more firms with 2 to 20 employees, as compared to other states. In business-friendly states, there are more firms in the “Home” industry but fewer firms in the “Writing” industry. According to our findings, the “ease of start” affects all firm characteristics, while “ease of hire” affects only size and industry, and “training and networking programs” affect age and industry. Meanwhile “Overall regulations” affect size, operational area, and industry.