Following the culmination of a three year study, the National Academies, the nation's leading scientific advisors, are calling for significant improvements to the mechanisms the government uses to collect information on entrepreneurship. The current business data systems from the federal government do not adequately measure dynamic economic trends, particularly for new businesses. In order for policymakers and researchers to fully understand business births and deaths, worker flows, and growth of productivity and innovation ? and their role in the larger economy ? the report puts forward recommendations that relate loosely to three data and measurement needs: 1) to increase the statistical system's capacity to measure activities of small and young businesses?especially those positioned in fast-growing and innovative sectors of the economy; 2) to improve the coverage and depth of business data through more effective coordination and integration of existing information sources; and, 3) to shift the legal and organizational environment to accommodate data sharing and confidentiality protections in ways that enables the kinds of efficiencies envisioned by the panel to occur.

Download the executive summary of the report, Understanding Business Dynamics: An Integrated Data System for America's Future.