What Types of Start-ups Receive Funding from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program? Evidence from the Kauffman Firm Survey

Reynold V. Galope

doi:10.4067/S0718-27242014000200002

Authors

Reynold V. Galope

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242014000200002

Keywords:

small and medium enterprises, research and development (R&D), high-technology start-ups, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), innovation policy, Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS)

Abstract

This paper integrates the Kauffman Firm Survey with the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) recipient dataset to examine in more depth the characteristics of small business start-ups that received R&D subsidy from SBIR. Our selection analysis first shows that SBIR program funds are distributed disproportionately to start-ups whose owner has a post-graduate education. The odds of being granted SBIR R&D subsidies are also higher for those who had prior R&D experience and owned patents at the start of their business operations. Start-ups that are operating in the high-technology sector are also more likely to receive SBIR funds than start-ups in traditional sectors. Surprisingly, start-ups that did not sell goods and services are more likely to receive SBIR grants. Interestingly, location matters but at a different direction: start-ups located in states that are not known for their R&D performance are more likely to receive SBIR funding.

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Author Biography

Reynold V. Galope

Reynold Galope has a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. He is currently a Statistics and Econometrics Expert at the Economics and Research Department of the Asian Development Bank. His areas of interest are Research, Technology, and Innovation Policy; Strategic Industrial Policy; Technology Entrepreneurship; Public Management and Governance Reforms; and Policy and Program Evaluation. His research has been published in the American Review of Politics and presented in various international conferences. In 2006-2012, he was a Fulbright Fellow, Graduate Research Assistant, and Instructor of Applied Statistics and Research Methods at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. He is a member of the American Economic Association, Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), and American Evaluation Association.

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