Sixteen Percent Of High-Impact, High-Tech Firms Founded By Immigrant Entrepreneurs

July 16, 2009 10:55 AM EDT

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sixteen percent of high-impact, high-tech firms have at least one immigrant founder, according to a study released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Although these firms are concentrated in states with large immigrant populations, in most other respects they resemble high-impact, high-tech firms founded by native-born entrepreneurs.

Moreover, these immigrant entrepreneurs are highly educated and appear to be strongly rooted in the United States. Roughly 55 percent of the foreign-born founders hold a masters degree or a doctorate. In addition, they are more than twice as likely as native-born founders to hold a doctorate. Furthermore, 77 percent of the foreign-born high-tech entrepreneurs are American citizens and, on average, they have lived over 25 years in the United States. Two-thirds of them received their college degrees here, as well.

"Immigrant entrepreneurs clearly contribute a significant amount to our country's cutting edge high-tech firms," said Shawne McGibbon, acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. "This report outlines these contributions and delivers important new data about immigrant entrepreneurs."

High-tech Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the United States, written by David Hart, Zoltan Acs, and Spencer Tracy, Jr. with funding from Advocacy, defines high-impact firms as those with sales that have at least doubled over the 2002-2006 period and which have significant employment growth during that time. The authors defined high-tech industries using research and development employment as a share of total employment as the key criterion.

For a complete copy of the report, visit www.sba.gov/advo. The Office of Advocacy, the "small business watchdog" of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.

The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

ndian Politician 'Should Be Raped' Uproar

An Indian politician has been arrested and her house set on fire for allegedly suggesting a rival should be raped to better understand the plight of sex attack victims.

Rita Bahguna Joshi (L) and Mayawati

Rita Bahuguna Joshi, chief of the Congress party in the northern Uttar Pradesh state, is being held for 14 days pending a probe into the matter.

It is alleged she promoted social enmity, insulted a woman's modesty and insulted a person of lower caste.

No charges have been filed yet, but the three offences are punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

Joshi's house in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow was set on fire on Wednesday night, hours after she made a speech criticising state Chief Minister Mayawati.

Victims should "throw the money at Mayawati's face and tell her, 'You should also be raped and I will give you 10 million rupees"'.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi's controversial comment

Mayawati, a single woman, belongs to the Bahujan Samaj Party which draws its support from the low-caste Hindus.

For centuries, those from low castes have remained underprivileged in India's deeply hierarchal society.

But, in recent years, members of low castes have achieved enormous political clout, which became evident when Mayawati took control of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, in May 2007.

The Bahujan Samaj Party is a bitter rival of the Congress, which runs the federal government and some of India's 29 states.

After being arrested, Joshi said her comments were taken out of context.

Her speech was about the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh and the increasing number of rapes in the state.

I regret what I said in a fit of anger. If it is being misconstrued, if it's being misinterpreted, it is being taken out of context, then I regret it.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi

Citing cases in which some women were paid 25,000 rupees (£313) after being raped, Joshi said simply compensating them with money was not enough.

Victims who are raped should "throw the money at Mayawati's face and tell her, 'You should also be raped and I will give you 10 million rupees (£125,000)

Pakistan and India in terror vow

India and Pakistan will work together to fight terrorism, the countries' prime ministers have announced.

Meeting in Egypt, they said the fight against their "main threat" should not be linked to wider peace talks.

However, India's Manmohan Singh later said no dialogue would start until those behind last year's attacks in Mumbai (Bombay) were "brought to book".

Relations between the two countries deteriorated after the attacks in which militants killed more than 160 people.

India has accused Pakistan-based fighters from the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of carrying out the attacks.

Pakistan has admitted they were partly planned on its soil - and vowed to do all it can to bring the suspects to justice.

Climb-down 'denied'

ime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan and Manmohan Singh of India made the pledge after meeting in Egypt.

The talks on Thursday - on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement's summit in Egypt - were the third high-level meeting between the two nuclear-armed neighbours since the Mumbai attacks last November which brought an abrupt halt to peace talks.

"Both leaders affirmed their resolve to fight terrorism and co-operate with each other to this end," the joint statement of the talks said.

"Prime Minister Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice and Prime Minister Gilani assured that Pakistan will do everything in its power in this regard."

The two prime ministers agreed to co-operate on the investigation.

Both leaders agreed that terrorism is the main threat to both countries Joint statement Full text: India-Pakistan statement Breaking the ice?

"Pakistan has provided an updated status dossier on the investigations of the Mumbai attacks," their statement said.

The two leaders also agreed to "share real-time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threat".

Last week Pakistan said the trial of five men suspected of involvement in the attack on Mumbai's Taj Hotel was likely to start this week.

In a move likely to please Islamabad, the prime minister's joint statement said action on terrorism "should not be linked to the composite dialogue process" - which includes talks on the disputed territory of Kashmir.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says many in India will see this as a major climb-down in Delhi's stance.

And moments after the joint statement had been issued, Mr Singh appeared to contradict the joint statement.

He told a news conference dialogue "cannot begin unless and until terrorist heads which shook Mumbai are properly accounted for, (the) perpetrators of these heinous crimes are brought to book".