Using Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation to Mitigate Wealth Inequality

Using Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation to Mitigate Wealth Inequality

by Thomas S. Lyons, Roger E. Hamlin, Amanda Hamlin
Released November 2018
Publisher(s): De Gruyter
ISBN: 9781547400485

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Economic inequality continues to contribute to political and social instability around the world. This instability stifles development and results in widening the wealth gap between the "haves" and "have nots," further eroding stability. It has been argued that entrepreneurship is a prime contributor to this vicious cycle. Using Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation to Mitigate Wealth Inequality contends that this is only true when the opportunity for entrepreneurship is limited to a few. The authors maintain that when entrepreneurship is open to anyone who is properly motivated, innovative, and has a goal of growth for their enterprise, it helps build wealth for a greater number of people. The concept of "social entrepreneurship" is introduced, where entrepreneurship becomes a vehicle for explicitly addressing community-based economic and social challenges using markets.

The book uses examples of entrepreneurial projects and programs that have attempted to address inequality to discuss entrepreneurship as an economic development strategy and its role in addressing the challenges of economic inequality. It advocates thinking and acting systemically, creating and sustaining entrepreneurial support ecosystems, in order to generate the synergy required to scale-up development and transform our economies and provides a distinctive perspective on a pressing social and economic issue, with significant implications for the future of the United States and the world.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. About the Authors
  6. About the Series Editor
  7. Contents
  8. Introduction
  9. Chapter 1: Wealth Inequality: What Is It? Why Do We Care?
    1. Why Do We Care?
    2. Poverty
  10. Chapter 2: Growth and Development
    1. Definitions
    2. Understanding and Promoting Business Development
    3. Community and Economic Development
      1. Growth versus Development in Community Economic Development
      2. Asset-Oriented Community Development
    4. The Link to Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  11. Chapter 3: The Rise of Entrepreneurship as an Economic Development Strategy
    1. The Three Major Economic Development Strategies
    2. Business Attraction
    3. Business Retention
    4. Business Creation
    5. The Benefits of Entrepreneurship to Economies
    6. The Emerging Form of Entrepreneurship Support as an Economic Development Strategy
  12. Chapter 4: How Entrepreneurship Can Be Fostered in a Way That Mitigates Economic Inequality
    1. Social Entrepreneurs Supporting the Efforts of Low-Income Commercial Entrepreneurs
  13. Chapter 5: An Example from New York City: Competition THRIVE
    1. Background
    2. The Case of Competition THRIVE
    3. Competition THRIVE Years 1, 2, and 3
    4. Results
    5. Impact on ESOs and their Client Immigrant Entrepreneurs
    6. Year 1: QEDC—Home Improvement Contractor Training (HICT)—Winner
    7. Year 2: CAMBA—Mobilize Your Business—Winner
    8. Year 3: SoBRO—The United Business Cooperative (UBC)—Winner
    9. Observations
    10. Conclusion
  14. Chapter 6: An Example from Chicago: The West Side Business Xcelerator
    1. History of Chicago’s West Side
    2. The West Side Xcelerator
    3. The Barriers to Success
  15. Chapter 7: An Example from Michigan: The Michigan State University Product Center Food-Ag-Bio
    1. MSU and the MSU Product Center
    2. The Product Center’s Pipeline
    3. The Product Center’s Structure
    4. The Product Center and Wealth Inequality
  16. Chapter 8: An Example from Poland: The Warsaw Entrepreneurship Forum
    1. The Warsaw Entrepreneurship Forum
    2. Warsaw Entrepreneurship Forum Follow-Up
  17. Chapter 9: Community Entrepreneurship: The Cases of the Lumber Enterprise in Ixtlan, Mexico, and the Pubs of Rural Ireland
  18. Chapter 10: Social Entrepreneurship among Native Peoples of the Americas: A Model or an Exception?
  19. Chapter 11: Necessary but Not Sufficient: Only Systemic Approaches Transform
    1. Lessons Learned from Individual Case Studies
    2. Common Themes
    3. Limitations of These Approaches
    4. The Ecosystem Approach
    5. Positive Signs Going Forward
    6. Conclusion
  20. Index

Product information

  • Title: Using Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation to Mitigate Wealth Inequality
  • Author(s): Thomas S. Lyons, Roger E. Hamlin, Amanda Hamlin
  • Release date: November 2018
  • Publisher(s): De Gruyter
  • ISBN: 9781547400485