Coffee Shops and Business Formation | Economics, Applied | Steven Davis and Jorge Guzman | Hoover Institution

Steven Davis interviews Professor Jorge Guzman about the effects of coffee shops on business startups. Starbucks and other sit-down coffee shops offer social spaces where people can converse, exchange ideas, and build trust. In his recent research, Guzman investigates whether and when this networking aspect of coffee shops leads to more business formation in the local neighborhood. Tune in for an assessment of his evidence and discussion of its implications for urban planning and how to strengthen local communities.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Dr. Jorge Guzman is an associate professor in the Management Division at Columbia University Business School. He received his PhD from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and was previously a postdoc at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a lecturer at MIT Sloan. His research focuses on entrepreneurship policy, regional entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial strategy. He was previously involved in the Boston startup ecosystem. He’s also served as an advisor to numerous startups and to government agencies on how to foster entrepreneurship.

Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is ann economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business., serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.

RELATED RESOURCES:

• Third Places and Neighborhood Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Starbucks Cafés
• Jorge Guzman Website