The purpose of the research study on states’ regulatory flexibility activity was to evaluate to what extent states went to mitigate the impact of state regulations on small businesses.  The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) at the federal level requires agencies to minimize the impact of their regulations on small entities without compromising their regulatory objectives.  States versions of the RFA, the research indicates, are/have been following different paths to the requirements and are having mixed results.

On February 12th, 2013, the President issued the Executive Order for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (Executive Order 13636). In accordance with Section 8(e) of Executive Order 13636, within 120 days, the General Services Administration and the Department of Defense, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council, are required to make recommendations on the feasibility, security benefits, and relative merits of incorporating security standards into acquisition planning and contract administration and address what steps can be taken to harmonize, and make consistent, existing procurement requirements related to cybersecurity.

In this research study, Martin Kenney and Donald Patton explore the network of support for gazelles that take their companies public through initial public offerings (IPOs). This entrepreneurial support network, or ESN, is comprised of law firms, venture capitalists, and lead investment bankers, the core of the team needed to launch an IPO. The authors examine the overall impact of these actors on gazelles’ employment growth.

The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) is currently reviewing its regulations governing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Verification Program. OSDBU intends to improve the regulations to provide greater clarity, to streamline the program, and to encourage more VOSBs to apply for verification. OSDBU seeks comments on how best to approach this undertaking. Although OSDBU identified specific issues, it encourages commenters to discuss any issue related to improving these specific regulations and the program.

The number of minority-oriented equity capital funds grew significantly during the period of the 1990s. Early financial performance was positive; but more recently, these funds have invested in fewer minority-owned businesses and have increased their non-minority-owned high-tech investments. This research examines these equity capital funds and public support for these funds to evaluate these changes.

This study investigates whether the age of a business is linked to innovation and productivity, specifically whether young firms have an edge on  older firms. Previous research on innovation has shown that small businesses are more efficient at innovation than large businesses.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the Great Recession commenced in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. This research examines whether observable differences in patent behavior between small and large firms occur during this 2007-2009 period.

On April 1, 2013, USTR invited written public comment on the proposed TTIP.