Too much risk-taking can be dangerous, but U.S. businesses both large and small appear to be mired in a risk-averse mentality, according to leading economists.
The Wall Street Journalrecently reported that the U.S. economy has turned “soft on risk,” as measured in part by three important trends: companies are adding jobs slowly; investors are putting less money into new ventures; and Americans are starting fewer businesses and are less inclined to change jobs or move for new opportunities.
“The pessimistic view is we’ve lost our mojo,” said John Haltiwanger, a University of Maryland economist who has studied the decline in entrepreneurship.
Risk-taking appears to be more concentrated by region and industry than in years past, according to Dane Stangler of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo., nonprofit that studies entrepreneurship. The technology sector continues to create new categories of products and services. Coastal cities such as San Francisco and Boston, and college towns like Austin, Texas and Boulder, Colo., boast vibrant communities of entrepreneurs and investors.
