Successful economies require a strong small business and new start-up sector, which in turn creates an entrepreneurial climate. This sector and the resultant entrepreneurial activity create numerous positive impacts on the economy, notably new starts, job creation, firm growth, and innovation. For the majority of small businesses and the relatively unique and high-growth entrepreneurial firms to survive and flourish, public policy must contain rules and regulations that neither inhibit nor interfere with this sector but instead provide a level playing field, generate competition, and proactively support a sustainable entrepreneurial climate. Public policy can shape the economy in which new ventures operate. It establishes regulations and laws to guide behavior, determines infrastructure and taxes, and even contributes to creating a positive (or negative) entrepreneurial culture. Thus, ...