The Five Gaps Facing Small and Microbusiness Owners: Evidence From New York City

Abstract

Small businesses play a critical role in economic development. Over the past 20 years, policies and programs have sought to increase the potential success of these businesses. Yet little is known about the extent to which these policies and programs respond to the specific needs of business owners. Using a mixed-methods approach, the authors investigate the barriers to success that small business owners face, the effectiveness of current policies and programs aimed at serving small businesses, and ways to improve the current system. Focusing on disadvantaged entrepreneurs in New York City, the authors find five primary gaps within the current policy system: a transitional gap, an information gap, and an institutional capacity and service delivery gap. The authors argue that the capital and training needs of small business owners are deeper and more complex than what the current policy system addresses and offer recommendations for improvement.

From Cities to Suburbs: Intrametropolitan Location and Growth of Ethnic Enterprises

“…From a planning standpoint, policies need to be in place not just to facilitate entrepreneurial entry, but to follow through ethnic businesses' startup process to ensure ultimate future success. Numerous studies have identified the access barriers as well as financial constraints of ethnic firms (Bates 1997;Blanchard, Zhao and Yinger 2008;Servon et al 2010). The ultimate economic impact of these firms needs to be considered in addition to their growth in number in evaluating any existing and future policies that aim at promoting ethnic entrepreneurship.…”

Individual microentrepreneurs and economic development in the municipalities of São Paulo from 2010 to 2014

“…Há forte semelhança entre a figura do microempreendedor individual e o fomento aos micronegócios, descrito por Houston e Reuschke ( 2017) e Servon et al (2010). Os micronegócios constituem o caminho encontrado pelo Estado para formalizar as atividades produtivas informais, de empreendedores individuais ou de famílias, antes isolados em suas atividades econômicas, sem qualquer respaldo ou reconhecimento do poder público, por formalmente não existirem.…”

The Political Economy of South Asian Diaspora

“…Lussier and Halabi (2010) argue that if small businesses have adequate capital, maintain good record keeping and financial control, have specific plans, make use of professional advice, have higher level of education, and make use of marketing activities, they will increase their chances of success. Servon et al (2010) identified five primary gaps facing small and micro business owners in the context of New York City. These are: (i) skill gap (ii) information gap (iii) commitment gap (iv) capital gap (v) institutional capacity gap and service delivery gap.…”