{"insight":{"id":"114773137","lede":"\"Finally, I show that the empirical results are driven entirely by newly-eligible households that did not enroll, suggesting uninsured risk from leaving wage employment is the primary barrier to entrepreneurship for this population.\"","slug":"uninsured-risk-from-leaving-wage-employment-is-a-primary-barrier-to-entrepreneurs","title":"Uninsured risk from leaving wage employment is a primary barrier to entrepreneurship.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"}],"tags":[{"slug":"growth","name":"Growth","id":"23932836","lede":"

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

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Amidst debates over the merits of continued growth, we begin with the idea that all else equal, a society with growth, with more wealth, is preferable to one with less. Without growth, society becomes a zero-sum distributional game: anyone's gain is another's loss. Growth (all else equal) enables shared prosperity.

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But there is broad agreement that current measures of growth, such as GDP, are inadequate to the task of providing a suitable proxy to guide further growth. Whether devising improved measures that account for missing elements such as sustainability, equity, leisure time, or digital value, or constructing altogether new proxies (OECD's Better Life Index, for example), the conversation about how best to measure, and thus drive, equitable, regenerative, socially desirable growth is a rich field of debate.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a \"a bigger pie\".\n\nAmidst debates over the merits of continued growth, we begin with the idea that *all else equal*, a society with growth, with more wealth, is preferable to one with less. Without growth, society becomes a zero-sum distributional game: anyone's gain is another's loss. Growth (all else equal) enables shared prosperity.\n\nBut there is broad agreement that current measures of growth, such as GDP, are inadequate to the task of providing a suitable proxy to guide further growth. Whether devising revised measures, such as Tyler Cowen's notion of wealth plus\" (GDP, plus measures of leisure time, household production, and environmental considerations), or constructing altogether new proxies (OECD's 'Better Life Index), the conversation about how best to measure, and thus drive, equitable, regenerative, socially desirable growth is a rich field of debate.","featured":true},{"slug":"entrepreneurship","name":"Entrepreneurship","id":"112058724","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null},{"slug":"safety-net","name":"Safety Net","id":"102567776","lede":"

The safety net refers to government programs that unconditionally assure a minimum amount of welfare that no citizen can fall below.

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Examples of safety net programs include SNAP benefits (food stamps), Medicaid, and basic income.

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By way of example, imagine a tight-rope strung across a deep chasm. If falling to the ground poses danger, a safety net is strung to catch anyone who falls, mitigating the danger.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The safety net refers to government programs that unconditionally assure a minimum amount of welfare that no citizen can fall below.\n\nExamples of safety net programs include SNAP benefits (food stamps), Medicaid, and basic income.\n\nBy way of example, imagine a tight-rope strung across a deep chasm. If falling to the ground poses danger, a safety net is strung to catch anyone who falls, mitigating the danger.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"114773131","lede":"In the mid-2000's, expanding SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) eligibility increased enrollment by 3-5%. Newly eligible households were 20% more likely to own a business. The results are driven by newly-eligible households that did not enroll in SNAP, which the author suggests is an indication that uninsured risk from leaving wage employment is a primary barrier to entrepreneurship.","link":"https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/16-143_2cf7ba14-5bfa-4c34-85d9-0edc0ddc7ce6.pdf","slug":"food-stamp-entrepreneurs","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Food Stamp Entrepreneurs","year":"2016-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"114754586","location":"Harvard University","name":"Gareth Olds","seoDescription":"","slug":"gareth-olds"}]}]}}