We document that since 1997, the rate of startup formation has precipitously declined for firms operated by US PhD recipients in science and engineering. We explore how increasing knowledge complexity can be associated with fewer science-based startups. The decline in startup formation is accompanied by an earnings decline, increasing work complexity in R&D, and more administrative work for science-based founders. Founding a startup appears to have become increasingly harder over the past 20 years, while established firms are becoming more attractive workplaces for PhDs.

中文翻译：

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科学初创企业的衰落：战略人力资本以及在初创企业与成熟企业工作的价值

我们记录到，自 1997 年以来，美国科学与工程博士学位获得者经营的公司的初创率急剧下降。我们探索不断增加的知识复杂性如何与更少的基于科学的初创公司联系起来。初创企业数量的下降伴随着盈利下降、研发工作复杂性增加以及科学创始人的行政工作增多。过去 20 年来，创办一家初创公司似乎变得越来越困难，而老牌公司正成为对博士更具吸引力的工作场所。