Civic Economics new report – Amazon and Empty Storefronts – looks at two broad classes of impact: Fiscal (relating to public revenue) and Land Use (relating to development patterns at the local level).
Archives: Resources
Monopoly Power and Small Business
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance issued a new report that suggests a troubling explanation for the dwindling ranks of small businesses. “Drawing on examples in pharmacy, banking, telecommunications, and retail, it finds that big companies routinely use their size and their economic and political power to undermine their smaller rivals and exclude them from markets.”
Fast Facts on the California Economy
Check out the Fast Facts on California Economy published by the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy (JEDE). The state has the 6th largest economy in the world with a $2.45 trillion GDP, July 2016.
Small Business Finance FAQ
The Finance FAQ outlines the borrowing and lending universe for startups and existing small businesses, provides demographic information, and touches on important trends in the amount and modes of finance.
Small Business FAQ
The SBA Office of Advocacy has updated its most widely used publication: “Frequently Asked Questions about Small Business.” The Small Business FAQ is the place to go to for the basics – how many small businesses are in the United States, how many employees they have, and what their growth trends are.
Prison to Proprietor
Asset Funders Network recently published “Prison to Proprietor: Entrepreneurship as a Re-Entry Strategy.” The report features several programs that use business ownership to build skills, connections, and attitudes that strengthen the ability of formerly-incarcerated individuals to succeed as they re-enter their communities. Such programs improve chances of employment, reduce recidivism and benefit both the individual and the community. The expansion of business ownership and entrepreneurship opportunities may particularly benefit people and communities of color who are disproportionately affected by incarceration.
The New Business Lending
Opportunity Fund released a very important research report, “Unaffordable and Unsustainable: The New Business Lending on Main Street.” Until now, we have been relying on stories to explain what’s happening with online lending. Now we’ve got some data on the loans and cash advances being offered to small businesses by short-term, high-cost alternative lenders. Cliff notes on findings: 94% interest rates; average payment is 1.78x income -YIKES.
Growth of Women-Owned Enterprises 2002-2012
This research is an analysis of the key trends and findings in women’s business ownership, comparing figures from the 2002, 2007, and 2012 Surveys of Business Owners. The project explores the growth and development of women-owned enterprises over the 2002 to 2012 period, paying particular attention to differences between the pre-recession period of 2002-2007 and the more recent 2007-2012 period.
2015 Employer Firms Credit Survey
Seven Federal Reserve Banks released Small Business Credit Survey: Report on Employer Firms. The three main findings: financing success improved in 2015; businesses most satisfied with small bank lending; and online lenders are popular—but they have lowest borrower satisfaction levels.
The Declining Cost of Distance
For centuries, the cost of distance has determined where businesses produce and sell, where employers locate jobs and where families choose to live, work, shop, and play. What if this cost fell dramatically, thanks to new technologies? How would the global economy change if manufacturers could produce locally in small batches, without incurring excess cost? Would existing business models and supply chains, for instance, suddenly become uncompetitive? If people could work from anywhere, would crowded neighborhoods start to thin out?
That change already has begun in the world’s advanced economies and is gathering momentum. Over the next two decades, the cost of distance will decline sharply, according to Bain research, altering the way we live and work—faster than most people expect and more broadly than many imagine.