These can be difficult to measure. A common mistake is to confuse de-registration of businesses with policy failure - a myth often quoted by politicians is that three out of five new businesses fail within five years. This ‘failure rate’ is then quoted as a sign of the high risk of entry into an independent business activity. It has also served as a justification against intervention because of the risk that a high proportion of investment support to start-ups will be quickly written off. The policy implication is that it is better to target public support on existing businesses. However, at the ‘small firms.
