Small business lending programs designed to move disadvantaged low-income people into business ownership have been difficult to implement successfully in the U.S. context. Based in part on the premise that financing requirements are an entry barrier limiting the ability of aspiring entrepreneurs...

Limited access to financing restricts the ability of minority business enterprises (MBEs) to achieve viability, to generate new jobs, and, generally, to reach their full potential to contribute to the economic development of the communities and regions in which they operate. Although MBEs rely...

Emphasizing the relevance of cultural factors, sociologists have treated Asian immigrant business ownership as a group phenomenon, heavily dependent on social resources available from group support networks. In this article, the authors' analysis of the "social resources" explanations of Asian...

The authors investigate the empirical link between prevailing levels of crime and the viability of small businesses. Using confidential microdata from the U.S. Census Bureau's Characteristics of Business Owners Survey, they find, on balance, that young firms operating in high-crime niches in...

Does the employment status of minorities suffer when government downplays affirmative action efforts? This study analyzes the relative status of minority businesses and construction employees in New York City's construction industry. Ed Koch, New York City mayor from 1978 to 1990, chose to...

Once shorn of the fetters of government and meddling community groups, profit-seeking businesses will, according to Michael Porter, capitalize on the competitive advantages of the inner city. Will the ensuing business development dynamic create jobs for the impoverished of the inner city? The...

The minority business-oriented venture-capital industry grew rapidly in the 1990s, as did its target market of large-scale minority-owned firms. This niche of the venture-capital industry traditionally relied upon the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for funding and guidance. In the...

Former President Bill Clinton’s New Markets Initiative includes a proposal to create companies that will invest venture capital into small firms that operate in low-income areas. Important elements of this proposal are essentially recycled ideas that worked badly when implemented back in...