| This thesis examines issues of entrepreneurial finance from an empirical perspective. The field of entrepreneurial finance has grown strongly over the last ten years. I interpret it broadly to mean financing and corporate governance issues facing start-ups and family firms.; The first chapter, "Transfer Taxes and the Survival of Family Firms", looks at how family firms are affected by transfer taxes. In cross country regressions of 20 countries, I test for the effect of transfer taxes augmented by capital gains taxes both on the number of family firms and on the propensity of the firms to seek a public listing. The tax burden has a negative and significant impact on both variables. By providing more insight into the effects of the tax on transfers, this chapter aims to better inform the current policy debates on transfer tax reform.; The second chapter, "Family Firms, Transfer Taxes and Ownership Concentration", examines the impact of the transfer and capital gains tax burden on ownership concentration of large family firms. In the empirical section, ownership concentration rates in 38 countries are regressed on transfer and capital gains tax rates and a number of other explanatory variables. The relationship between the tax rates and ownership concentration is negative and significant. This finding deepens our understanding of the determinants of ownership concentration in addition to contributing to the debate on transfer tax reform.; The third chapter, "The Determinants of Venture Capital Funding", analyzes the determinants of venture capital for a sample of 21 countries. In particular, we consider the importance of IPOs, GDP and market capitalization growth, labor market rigidities, accounting standards, private pension funds, and government programs. We find that while IPOs are the strongest driver of venture capital investing, government policies can also have a strong impact. We also show that different types of venture capital financing are affected differently by the determinants of venture capital. We conclude that while later stage venture capital investing is well understood, early stage and government funded investments still require more extensive research. |
