Editing Economy of the United States (section)

==Entrepreneurship==
{{See also|Technological and industrial history of the United States}}
[[File:Government and State-Owned Enterprises to GDP for United States.png|thumb|Percent of U.S. economy from [[state-owned enterprise]]s or [[government-sponsored enterprise]]s.]]
[[File:PyramidParthenon.jpg|thumb|Tennessee in 1897. The U.S. was a leader in the adoption of [[lightbulb|electric lighting]].]]

The United States has been a leader in technological innovation since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid-20th century. In 1876, [[Alexander Graham Bell]] was awarded the first U.S. [[Invention of the telephone|patent for the telephone]]. [[Thomas Edison]]'s laboratory developed the [[phonograph]], the first [[Incandescent light bulb|long-lasting light bulb]], and the first viable [[Kinetoscope|movie camera]]. Edison's company would also pioneer ([[direct current]] based) electric power delivery and market it around the world, followed on by companies such as [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]] which would rapidly develop [[alternating current]] power delivery. In the early 20th century, the automobile companies of [[Ransom E. Olds]] and [[Henry Ford]] popularized the [[assembly line]]. The [[Wright brothers]], in 1903, made the [[Wright Flyer|first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Benedetti, François |url=http://www.fai.org/news_archives/fai/000295.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912065254/http://www.fai.org/news_archives/fai/000295.asp |archive-date=September 12, 2007 |title=100 Years Ago, the Dream of Icarus Became Reality |publisher=Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) |date=December 17, 2003 |access-date=August 15, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Steve Jobs and Bill Gates (522695099).jpg|thumb|[[Steve Jobs]] and [[Bill Gates]] are two of the most well-known American entrepreneurs.]]

American society highly emphasizes entrepreneurship and business. [[Entrepreneurship]] is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes [[innovation]]s, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity.<ref name="ReferenceB">Shane, Scott "A General Theory of Entrepreneurship: the Individual-Opportunity Nexus", Edward Elgar</ref> American entrepreneurs are even engaged in public services delivery through [[Public-private partnerships in the United States|public-private partnerships]].

The most obvious form of entrepreneurship refers to the process and engagement of starting new businesses (referred to as [[startup company|startup companies]]); however, in recent years, the term has been extended to include social and political forms of entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing activities within a firm or large organization it is referred to as intra-preneurship and may include corporate venturing, when large entities spin-off organizations.<ref name="ReferenceB" />

According to Paul Reynolds, entrepreneurship scholar and creator of the [[Global Entrepreneurship Monitor]], "by the time they reach their retirement years, half of all working men in the United States probably have a period of self-employment of one or more years; one in four may have engaged in self-employment for six or more years. Participating in a new business creation is a common activity among U.S. workers over the course of their careers."<ref>Reynolds, Paul D. "Entrepreneurship in the United States", Springer, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0387456676}}</ref> And in recent years, business creation has been documented by scholars such as [[David Audretsch]] to be a major driver of economic growth in both the United States and Western Europe.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}
[[File:Survival rate of US start-ups, 1977–2012.svg|thumb|Survival rate of U.S. start-ups, 1977–2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamic Statistics, Published by Gallup, reproduced in UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, Figure 5.7, p. 143]]