Noel D. Campbell

Bio: Noel D. Campbell is an academic researcher from University of Central Arkansas. The author has contributed to research in topics: Entrepreneurship & Economic freedom. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 51 publications receiving 800 citations. Previous affiliations of Noel D. Campbell include Georgia College & State University.

Economic Freedom and Net Business Formation

Abstract: Economic freedom indexes, especially the Fraser Institute/Cato Institute Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) index and the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom, are becoming increasingly important as researchers seek to explore the link between economic freedom and prosperity. The consistent finding is that nations with more economic freedom--as indicated by security of property rights, free trade, limited government, low marginal tax rates, and so forth--enjoy higher per capita incomes and general living conditions compared with countries that are less free. (1) In a less aggregated study, Karabegovic et al. (2003) find that differences in economic freedom across U.S. states and Canadian provinces are significantly and positively related to differences in the level and growth of economic activity across states and provinces. Various researchers have used the Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA) index, published by the Fraser Institute (Karabegovic, McMahon, and Mitchell 2005), to address questions of income differentials between states, income growth, and entrepreneurship. (2) Scholars have also used the EFNA index to study migration. Ashby (2007), not surprisingly, finds that people tend to move from less free to more free areas. In this article, we apply the EFNA index to the question of business formation, similar to Kreft (2003) and Kreft and Sobel (2005). Specifically, we ask whether the governmental, judicial, and social activities observed in the index are significantly related to net business formation among the states. We posit that greater economic freedom results in higher income levels for state residents because such freedom increases the opportunities to pursue entrepreneurial activities. Thus, such freedom should be positively and significantly correlated to net business formation, as measured by the net change in the number of businesses as a percentage of total businesses by state. Consistent with our expectations, we find that there is a strong positive relationship between economic freedom in a state and net business formation, after controlling for state population, income, median age, federal intergovernmental revenue, minority percentage in the population, and commercial lending. Our results are qualitatively consistent with the arguments advanced by Sobel, Clark, and Lee (2007), Clark and Lee (2006), and Kreft and Sobel (2005): When economies become politicized, effort is channeled away from wealth creation and into securing protection from market forces. Consistent with our empirical results, states with less economic freedom--and therefore more intrusive government--experience a lower rate of business formation because the benefits of private, for-profit entrepreneurial activity decline relative to other forms of economic and political activity. Entrepreneurship, Economic Freedom, and Economic Performance Promoting entrepreneurship has emerged as a significant policy tool for regional economic growth and job creation (Friar and Meyer 2003; Laukkanen 2000; Rosa, Scott, and Klandt 1996). Indeed, Maillat (1998) argues that economic development policy has shifted to promoting endogenous economic growth via entrepreneurship and away from competitive growth via attracting businesses from elsewhere. The relevant policy question becomes how best to promote entrepreneurship. One answer repeatedly championed in the literature is to increase economic freedom, conceptualized as follows: Policies are consistent with economic freedom when they provide an infrastructure for voluntary exchange, and protect individuals and their property from aggressors seeking to use violence, coercion, and fraud to seize things that do not belong to them. However, economic freedom also requires governments to refrain from actions that interfere with personal choice, voluntary exchange, and the freedom to enter and compete in labor and product markets [Gwartney and Lawson 2002: 5]. …

In Defense of Silos: An Argument Against the Integrative Undergraduate Business Curriculum

Abstract: The literature urges business schools to change their undergraduate curricula in response to changes in the models and methods currently used by corporate America. Critics contend that business sch...

Which State Policies Lead to U.S. Firm Exits? Analysis with the Economic Freedom Index

Abstract: This research investigates the relationship between public policy and firm deaths in the U.S. states. Policies that promote firm births may increase or decrease firm deaths. We use components of the Economic Freedom of North America index as a metric to evaluate the relationship between increased government size and firm deaths for the 50 states during 1989–2004. Elements of economic freedom are significantly related to firm deaths but in conflicting directions. We find that in the relevant range, some increases in state policy lead to firm death more than others. The paper also discusses our results and the implications for both future academic research and public policy.

Financial development and economic growth

Abstract: relationship. All subsequent studies confirmed it (see for example King and Levine, 1993, and the review in: Pagano, 1993). Goldsmith used a sample of 35 countries for the period between 1860 and 1963 to show the relationship between income and financial depth measured by the ratio between bank's assets and GDP. He also showed that in periods of rapid growth, financial depth grows faster than income. More details about measuring financial depth can be found in this paper. FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Velimir Šonje

ManyEyes: a Site for Visualization at Internet Scale

Abstract: We describe the design and deployment of Many Eyes, a public Web site where users may upload data, create interactive visualizations, and carry on discussions. The goal of the site is to support collaboration around visualizations at a large scale by fostering a social style of data analysis in which visualizations not only serve as a discovery tool for individuals but also as a medium to spur discussion among users. To support this goal, the site includes novel mechanisms for end-user creation of visualizations and asynchronous collaboration around those visualizations. In addition to describing these technologies, we provide a preliminary report on the activity of our users.