The Corporate Census

Abstract

I present the first database of all entity formations in the United States, going back to the founding. All previous studies were based on tiny subsets of corporations, such as only large public corporations. Looking at the broader sample destabilizes core empirical assumptions in the field. For example, while Delaware is commonly thought to be the leader for incorporations, its law is not even in the top five. While Delaware is thought to have taken New Jersey's leading role in the early 20 th century, New Jersey actually continues to beat Delaware until the late 1980s. These findings are proof of concept applications, inviting other scholars to use the data to refine and test other hypotheses. Feb. 25, 2025 draft.

Keywords: incorporation, corporate law, corporate governance, delaware, incorporation