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Race and Entrepreneurial Success

Mark Marich

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.

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