ProfitWise News and Views
Most Recent Articles
Preserving Chicago’s Minority Middle Neighborhoods
Maude Toussaint-Comeau and Robin Newberger
Not every city in the U.S. has Chicago’s rich history of Black middle class neighborhoods. This article analyzes data on key aspects of the changes that have taken places in the last few decades in traditionally middle income/middle class minority neighborhoods of Chicago.
The Economic Hardships of Low and Moderate-Income Individuals: Insights from Focus Groups
Kelly Edmiston, Emily Engel and Jennifer Wilding
This article highlights personal perspectives on the barriers to employment among low- and moderate-income workers in spite of a national economy that, until the Covid-19 pandemic, was quite robust.
Rethinking Options for Retiring Entrepreneurs
Retiring entrepreneurs have various alternatives for transfer of their businesses: family succession, which is frequently not successful long term, sale to an outside party, which can result in termination of those employed at the time of sale, or dissolution, are the most common. This article explores options for current employees to assume businesses through cooperative models that retain local ownership and jobs, and thereby promote neighborhood stability.
Secular Trends in Minority-Owned Businesses and Small Business Finance
Maude Toussaint-Comeau and Victoria Wiliams
Minority-owned firms have been on the rise for the last decades, but face many challenges. This article documents the trends in business dynamics and financing and argue for policies to increase access to resources and financial inclusion that would strengthen the minority small business sector.
