Let $n$ be a nonnegative integer. Prove that $\sum\limits_{r=1}^n \dfrac 1{r}\dbinom{n}{r} = \sum\limits_{r=1}^n \dfrac 1{r}(2^r – 1)$.
One thing I have tried is to represent both $\binom{n}{r}$ and $2^r$ as sums of binomial coefficients, i.e. $\sum \binom{i}{r-1}$ and $\sum \binom{r}{i}$ respectively, but it does not seem to be helpful. I have also tried to use binomial identities but I do not see how they can be applied to the problem.
Best Answer
$$\sum_{r=1}^n \frac{1}{r}\binom{n}{r}=\int_{0}^1\sum_{r=1}^n\binom{n}{r}x^{r-1}dx=\int_{0}^1\frac{(1+x)^r-1}{x}dx\\=\int_{0}^1\sum_{r=1}^n (1+x)^{r-1}dx\\=\sum_{r=1}^n \frac{2^r-1}{r}$$