The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) released “Necessity as a Driver of Women’s Entrepreneurship” this week. The report examines whether and how women turn to entrepreneurship to address potential market failures that limit their ability to attain or maintain economic self-sufficiency, or as an avenue to overcome flexibility bias and potential stigma in balancing work-life conflict assumed in traditional gendered roles and social norms.
Resource Category: Economics (General)
The Racial Wealth Divide
Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies look at the racial wealth divide at the median over the next four and eight years in The Road to Zero Wealth. They find that if you examine median wealth trends over the past three decades, the racial wealth divide will only continue to grow—into perpetuity—and it will do so at an accelerated rate.
Equity Profile of Los Angeles
Equity Profiles project by PolicyLink recently produced a report for San Francisco, the Bay Area and Los Angeles County. Each profile presents demographic trends and assess how well regions are doing to ensure its diverse residents can participate in the region’s economic vitality, contribute to the readiness of the workforce, and connect to the region’s assets and opportunities.
The Role of Microbusiness Employers
The SBA Office of Advocacy released a report on the impact of microbusiness on the national economy. Microbusinesses, defined in the fact sheet as firms with 1-9 employees, are the smallest of the smalls but they are the most common type of small business and exhibit an oversized role in employment.
Generational Views of Entrepreneurship
America’s SBDCs did a study – America’s Voice on Small Business – that delves into the entrepreneurial mindsets of different generations of Americans. The findings reinforced previously held beliefs such as a strong entrepreneurial inclination among millennials, while challenging preconceived notions about their motivations for starting a business. One third of Americans (34 percent), have worked in a small business and nearly a quarter (24 percent) of both millennials and GenXers own or have owned a small business.
Black Business Ownership
AEO recently released “The Tapestry of Black Business Ownership in America: Untapped Opportunities for Success.” The report assesses the economic strength and potential of Black-owned businesses, identifies myths, challenges and opportunities across a mosaic of segments, and suggests a plan for how investors and policymakers can increase the effectiveness of programs designed to support Black entrepreneurship.
Business Ownership And The Racial Wealth Gap
African Americans & Latinos/as face high barriers to starting and growing businesses, including lower levels of financial assets. What steps can we take to address this?
Closing the Ever-Growing Gap
CFED released “Administrative Actions to Close the Ever-Growing Gap.” This document describes seven administrative policy proposals President Trump could take that would help solve the problems of financial insecurity, wealth inequality and the growing racial wealth divide.
The Economics of The Independent Workforce
This study, which was commissioned by Upwork, the world’s largest freelancing marketplace, places the IW in context by examining the economic drivers, impacts, and facts around the growth of work performed by self-employed professionals and other freelance businesses. To more fully understand the IW and provide informed judgments about the wisdom of policy reforms that may affect freelancers and their economic opportunities, this study analyzed two distinct data sources and reviewed the related literature. The primary data sources are the 2014 and 2015 Freelancing in America (“FIA”) survey of American workers co-sponsored by Freelancers Union and Upwork, and the 2015 transactions between buyers and sellers using Upwork’s website.
Philanthropy and the Future of Work
In a new paper, Philanthropy and the Future of Work: Dimensions of Change and Opportunities for Action, we address the challenges related to the future of work facing philanthropic leaders who are interested in connecting economically vulnerable individuals and families to opportunities for advancement through work. The paper draws from a series of interviews conducted with more than a dozen individuals in philanthropy, revealing their ideas on the future of work and the implications for their strategies.