The growth of an economy depends upon entrepreneurial activities leading to the formation of new businesses and the production of new goods and services. In turn, institutions influence entrepreneurial activity. Public policy is an attribute of the institutions under which entrepreneurs operate. One element of the institutional environment is the degree of economic freedom under which entrepreneurs form and operate their business activities. The degree of economic freedom affects not only profit opportunities for entrepreneurs, but also the level and the type of economic activities they pursue. We examine how the entrepreneurial activity and level of employment in U.S. service industries respond to changes in the degree of economic freedom among states. Our findings suggest that the relationship between entrepreneurial outcomes and economic freedom varies significantly by industry. In some industries, such as business and personal services, increases in economic freedom lead to growth in the number of firms and the level of employment. However, the reverse is true for other industries, such as health, social, and legal services.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to focus on the impact of economic freedom on entrepreneurial activity in the service sector. Specifically, the paper examines how economic freedom at the state level affects employment among North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) six-digit service industries. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses a fixed effects model to predict the effect of economic freedom on employment in each of the NAICS six-digit service industries. The paper uses the significance of the economic freedom coefficients to determine which industries grow and which shrink with increases in economic freedom. Findings -The empirical findings reveal that economic freedom improves job growth for some, but not for all industries. Employment tends to grow in the six-digit industries that are categorized as finance and insurance, administrative and waste services, and professional and technical services. Employment in many of the health care and social assistance industries as well as accommodation and food services industries tends to fall with increases in economic freedom. Originality/value -These results give a more detailed assessment of the influence of economic freedom on employment growth based on micro-level data. The results can be used by policy makers to better understand how changes in economic freedom influence the portfolio of industries that develop in their states.

Computer aided instruction (CAI) encompasses a broad range of computer technologies that supplement the classroom learning environment and can dramatically increase a student’s access to information.  Criticism of CAI generally focuses on two issues: it lacks an adequate foundation in educational theory and the software is difficult to implement and use.  This paper describes the educational use of CAI in two different courses at a small, private university and the implementation and use experiences of the instructors.  One instructor used Homework Manager in Principles of Financial Accounting and the other instructor used Aplia in Principles of Microeconomics.  It is shown that the use of CAI is pedagogically effective and that currently available applications are easy to integrate into the student’s in-class experience.  The paper also reports on the impact that using CAI has on student evaluations of both the course and the instructor and on student grades.  For student evaluations, mean responses were compared on ten questions believed to be influenced by the switch from traditional homework assignments to CAI-based homework assignments.  While differences were generally in the expected direction, it could not be shown that CAI had a direct impact on student evaluations of either the course or the instructor.  For student grades, final exam grades were compared before and after the adoption of CAI.  It is shown that the use of CAI significantly increased student final exam grades.

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