A research project on "Empirical Analysis of Regional Start-up Ecosystems" led by Professor Masatoshi Kato of the School of Economics has published research findings

Professor Masatoshi Kato of the School of Economics has been conducting a project on "Empirical Analysis of Regional Start-up Ecosystems" (funded by Individual Special Research Grant), and several research findings from this project have been accepted or published in international academic journals.

Within this project, empirical research was conducted from multiple angles on factors that shape the growth of new firms, including external financing, entrepreneurs' prior experience, and the flow of knowledge between founders and their ventures.

As one outcome of this project, a co-authored paper by Professor Kato, Nicolas Legendre, and Hiroki Shirai, titled "When do new firms benefit from VC investment? The moderating role of firm age and size," which examines the conditions under which new firms benefit from venture capital investment, has been accepted for publication (forthcoming) in Japan and the World Economy.

In addition, a co-authored paper by Alex Coad, Professor Kato, and Stjepan Srhoj, titled "Gestation, endowments, and knowledge flows around the time of venture creation," which focuses on the flow of resources and knowledge during the gestation period leading up to firm formation, was published in Journal of Evolutionary Economics (Vol. 35, pp. 387–414) in July 2025.

Furthermore, a single-authored paper by Professor Kato, titled "Is Speedy Start-up Always Better? The role of entrepreneurs' prior experience," which examines how entrepreneurs' prior work experience affects the speed of start-up and subsequent business outcomes, was released as RIETI Discussion Paper Series 26-E-010 in February 2026.

Several other studies from this project are still ongoing and will be published in due course.