We utilize the staggered arrival of Uber and Lyft—large sources of on-demand, platform-enabled gig opportunities—in U.S. cities to examine the effect of the arrival of flexible gig work opportunities on new business formation. The introduction of gig opportunities is associated with an increase of ∼5% in the number of new business registrations in the local area, and a correspondingly-sized increase in small business lending to newly registered businesses. Internet searches for entrepreneurship-related keywords increase ∼7%. These effects are strongest in locations where proxies for ex ante economic uncertainty regarding the viability of new businesses are larger. Our findings suggest that the introduction of the gig economy creates fallback opportunities for would-be entrepreneurs that reduce risk and encourage new business formation.

Permissive laws deputize financial professionals to screen for misbehavior without providing explicit incentives. These are very common in financial markets. To evaluate their effectiveness, we exploit the staggered adoption of the 2016 Model Act provisions intended to curb elder abuse. We find a drop in reports of abuse by financial professionals to the Department of Treasury and, separately, in financial crimes against the elderly as monitored by the FBI . The effect is stronger where the elderly are more isolated. Our results highlight the role financial professionals play in combating social problems and the impact of permissive policies.