Abstract

New businesses face constraints in the form of limited access to capital and managerial expertise. Many governments have developed public venture capital programs for the purpose of easing these constraints and assisting young firms in generating growth in output and employment. The paper develops a model that incorporates occupational choice and informational asymmetries with regard to the ability of entrepreneurs and supply of effort, and determines the optimal supply of entrepreneurship, financial assistance, and managerial advice provided by a public venture capital program.