Changes

<onlyinclude>Rising [[:Student Debt|student debt]][http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/05/08/congratulations-class-of-2015-youre-the-most-indebted-ever-for-now/] may be stifling [[:Small Business|small business]] growth[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2417676].Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that start-ups and small businesses account for approximately 60% of net employment activity in the United States.According to a [http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/181592/potential-entrepreneurs-aren-taking-plunge.aspx| Gallup poll] conducted in February 2015, one of the biggest hurdles these companies and new entrepreneurs face, is identifying and accessing the capital to finance their ventures. Following the financial crisis of 2008, it's no surprise that the top funding source for new business remains the personal savings accounts of founders.[http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230011] Personal debt therefore, becomes an integral component of the financing equation in starting a small business. The strong negative correlation found in the Pennsylvania study cites student debt as a possible contributor to declining small business growth.</onlyinclude>

An increasing debt burden may be preventing would A report from the Kauffman foundation cites that the number of entrepreneurs ages 20-be entrepreneurs 34 has decreased from exploring their business pursuits34.3% in 1996 to 24.7% in 2014 [http://www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/research%20reports%20and%20covers/2015/05/kauffman_index_startup_activity_national_trends_2015.pdf]. A gallup poll conducted in October of 2015[http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/186179/student-loan-debt-major-barrier-entrepreneurship.aspx], found that as many as two million students cited loan debt as the principle reason they’d forgone or delayed plans to start a business. After the 2008 financial crisis, firm deaths had significantly exceeded firm births as calculated by the US census bureau. This phenomenon had gradually reversed itself in 2011, but has continued to miss the net average of 120,000 firm births experienced during the late 90's and early 2000's. Researchers speculate that fulfillment of a quarter of the entrepreneurial plans of the two million students’ pursuits would have been enough to return the 120,000 firm birth surplus. Analysis from the models created in the study,claim that an increase in one standard deviation of student debt, reduces small business formation for businesses with 1-4 employees by as much as 14%. A report from the Kauffman foundation cites that the number of entrepreneurs ages 20-34 has decreased from 34.3% in 1996 to 24.7% in 2014.