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This paper examines the tax administrative burden and its effect on new firm formation. It is well recognized that entrepreneurship and new firm formation are critical factors in determining economic growth and development. New firm entry into the marketplace enhances welfare in two distinct ways: 1) by promoting innovation, productivity and economic growth and 2) by increasing competition, which lowers prices and expands output. It is also well documented that barriers to entry reduce the likelihood that new firms will enter various sectors. We argue that the burden imposed by tax codes and tax compliance constitutes a barrier to entry that has been neglected in the previous literature. We use data from the World Bank to measure the administrative burden that the complexity of tax policy imposes on new firms. Additionally, we use a measure of new firm formation - entry density. Our data cover 118 countries over a period of six years. We find that the entry rate is significantly reduced by the tax administrative burden and that this effect is unrelated to general taxes on corporate profits and is robust to the inclusion of several important control variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is a shift in intellectual property rights to universities the key instrument in increasing commercialization of publicly funded research? How much can actually be learned from the US system, disregarding the ongoing debate as to whether the USA do actually outperform Europe in terms of commercializing university-based research? Taking Sweden as a role model, the article claims that this policy will not work, from the analysis of a unique database giving individual university researchers' views on participation in commercialization of public research, their commercialization experiences, and the obstacles researchers say exist to increase academic entrepreneurship. Despite researchers' positive attitudes towards engaging in commercial activities, the university culture, weak incentive structures and badly managed support facilities impede the creation of efficient links to markets. Measures must be taken at primarily the national level, but also at the university level, to enhance commercialization activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]