BPINNOVATE: Impacts of Social Safety Net Policies on STEM Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Underrepresented Populations and Underserved Regions

了解体制环境如何影响创业形成和创新活动，对于设计促进创业者和发明者参与和成功的政策至关重要。然而，令人惊讶的是，人们对社会安全网政策在促进创业和创新方面的作用知之甚少。这一点尤其令人关切，因为目前正在讨论一系列社会安全网问题的政策辩论，但对这些政策如何影响创业和创新却没有充分的了解。该项目旨在提供关于社会安全网政策如何影响STEM创业和创新的第一套评估，特别是在美国代表性不足的人口和服务不足的地区。研究结果将为政策制定者和从业者提供实用建议，说明社会安全网福利如何影响STEM企业家和发明家的数量和质量，而这些企业家和发明家是持续全球竞争力的关键。以及它们如何影响油井通过创业授权和包容性，帮助代表性不足的人口和服务不足的地区。该提案包括三项研究，家庭、健康和教育援助福利。每项研究都利用了一系列准实验，这些实验对代表性不足的人群或服务不足的地区特别有意义，以确定一种社会安全网政策对STEM创业参与，创新活动和创新成果的因果影响。此外，还将收集关于各种社会安全网政策如何塑造个人偏好和行为的访谈和调查数据，以发展关于创业进入和创新能力的微观基础的新理论，这可以推进社会科学的多方法。总体而言，该项目为政府项目和商业战略的设计提供了重要的见解，这些项目将促进包容性经济增长并保持美国在科学和技术方面的竞争力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The understanding of how institutional environments shape entrepreneurial formation and innovation activities is essential to the design of policies that enhance participation and success of entrepreneurs and inventors. However, surprisingly little is known about the role of social safety net policies in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. This is especially concerning, as ongoing policy debates over a range of social safety net issues are being discussed without a solid understanding of how these policies affect entrepreneurship and innovation. This project aims to provide the first set of evaluations of how social safety net policies impact STEM entrepreneurship and innovation, especially in underrepresented populations and underserved regions in the United States. Research results will provide practical advice to policymakers and practitioners regarding how social safety net benefits affect the quantity and quality of STEM entrepreneurs and inventors who are key to sustained global competitiveness, and how they impact the well-being of underrepresented populations and underserved regions through entrepreneurial empowerment and inclusiveness.The proposal consists of three studies that examine social safety net programs providing child and family, health, and educational assistance benefits, respectively. Each study exploits a set of quasi-experiments, which are particularly meaningful for underrepresented populations or underserved regions, to establish the causal effects of one type of social safety net policies on STEM entrepreneurship participation, innovation activities, and innovation outcomes. Additionally, interview and survey data on how various social safety net policies shape individual preferences and behavior will be collected to develop new theories on the micro-foundations of entrepreneurial entry and innovative capability, which can advance the multi-method approach in social sciences. Overall, this project offers important insights into the design of governmental programs and business strategies that would promote inclusive economic growth and maintain U.S. competitiveness in science and technology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.