This research paper analyses linked databases on all Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, on all SBA lenders, and on all U.S. employers to estimate the effects of financial access on employment growth.

The estimation results imply an increase of 3-4 jobs for each million dollars of loans, suggesting that credit constraints impede small business growth prior to loan receipt.

It also investigates the variation in estimated employment effects for the SBA 504 versus 7(a) programs, and with respect to the business cycle, local credit conditions, and within-county versus non-SBA county-industry control firms.

Finally, for loans issued over the 1992-2007 period, this report estimates total job creation of 1.0-2.1 million and the government's cost per job of $8,200-$18,000 measured five years after the loan year.