This text argues that small firms are an integral part of the renewal process that pervades market economies. They play a crucial role in experimentation and innovation that leads to technological change, productivity and economic growth, and are the essential mechanism by which millions enter the economic and social mainstream of American society. The public policy implications for sustained economic growth and social well-being is the continued high-level creation of new and small firms by all segments of society. It should be the role of government policy to facilitate that process by eliminating entry barriers, lowering transaction costs, and minimizing regulation.