Is Rising Small Business Regulation Driving Down Business Formation?

Small business owners are increasingly frustrated by government regulation, which they say has become a major problem in recent years. Twenty-two percent of small business owners surveyed to the National Federation of Independent Business’s November member survey (PDF) say that governmental regulation and red tape is the most important issue that they face today, just one percentage point fewer than the fraction that identified taxes the number one problem.

Moreover, the fraction calling regulation their biggest issue is far higher today than it was in the mid-1980s when roughly 10 percent of owners identified government rules and oversight as their number one problem.

Is Rising Small Business Regulation Driving Down Business Formation?