Race and Entrepreneurial Success
Posted by: Mark Marich
on
February 10, 2010
Source: Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
Why do Asian American-owned businesses do well in comparison to white-owned businesses, and why do African American-owned firms do poorly in relation to both? Economics professor Robert W. Fairlie and Kauffman senior research fellow Alicia M. Robb explore these issues in
Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States.
The book, released last August by MIT Press, examines the reasons behind racial disparities in business performance. The authors found that:
• A high level of startup capital is the most important factor contributing to the success of Asian-owned businesses, and that the lack of startup money for black businesses (attributable to the fact that nearly half of all black families have less than $6,000 in total wealth) contributes to their relative lack of success.
• Higher education levels among Asian business owners explain much of their success relative to both white- and black-owned businesses.
• Black entrepreneurs have fewer opportunities than white entrepreneurs to acquire valuable pre-business work experience through working in family businesses.
Choice magazine has recently selected
Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States as an "Outstanding Academic Title." For more information on this book, click
here.
Category:
General
