University of Wisconsin–Madison
Progressive Local Government
For the 21st Century

ProGov21 Policy Library

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Year
Minority and Women Entrepreneurs: Building Capital, Networks, and Skills
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2015
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Education
The United States has an enviable entrepreneurial culture and a track record of building new companies. Yet new and small business owners often face particular challenges, including lack of access to capital, insufficient business networks for peer support, investment, and business...
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Opinion Survey: Small Business Owner Opinions on Access to Credit and Proposals to Boost the Economy
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2012
Level City or Town
State(s) -
Source American Sustainable Business Council
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights
Small business owners are suffering from weak sales and decreased customer demand, and on top of that, a lack of access to credit. It is difficult for small business owners to access the credit that will help them grow, hire and jumpstart the economy. This survey explores what small...
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Immigrants and the Economy: Contribution of Immigrant Workers to the Country's 25 Largest Metropolitan Areas
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2009
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source Fiscal Policy Institute
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights
This report examines the economic role of immigrants in the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The report finds that the immigration and economic growth of metro areas go hand in hand; immigrants contribute to the economy in proportion to their share of the population;...
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Creating Inclusive High-Tech Incubators and Accelerators: Strategies to Increase Participation Rates of Women and Minority Entrepreneurs
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Education
Business incubators and accelerators have emerged as a popular strategy to support the growth of entrepreneurial ventures, especially in the high-tech sector. They are designed to address the networking, education and capital challenges all entrepreneurs face. These challenges are...
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Going Local: Quantifying the Economic Impacts of Buying from Locally Owned Businesses in Portland, Maine
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2011
Level County
State(s) Maine
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Housing, Public Safety, Food, Health, Environment & Natural Resources, Children & Families
The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) was retained by the Portland Independent Business and Community Alliance to collect and analyze data related to the economic impact of businesses in Portland, Maine. The primary purpose of the study was to quantify the impact of locally...
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The Blueprint for Community Business Success
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source Meeting Of The Minds
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Community Development, Economic Justice
America’s traditional economic development policy has raised important questions about equity, especially for new entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs and small businesses bring economic stability into communities. To encourage economic development brought, it is imperative that the impact...
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Helping Entrepreneurs of Color Grow Their Business
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Civil Rights
Minority-owned businesses play an increasingly important role in the U.S. economy. The nearly one million (996,248) minority-owned businesses with paid employees contribute $1.2 trillion in revenue and eight million jobs to the economy. Minority-owned businesses are especially important...
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7 Steps to Municipal Resilience & Recovery
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Community Development
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on local communities and economies. In response, this guide outlines seven steps municipal governments can take to hasten their recovery and build resilience for the future. These actions emphasize equitable outcomes, and were developed with the...
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2007 Summit County Ordinance 531
Type Ordinance
Year 2007
Level County
State(s) Ohio
Source Summit County Council
Policy Areas Housing, Public Safety
An Ordinance amending Chapter 181 of the Codified Ordinances of the County of Summit, entitled Linked Deposit Program to make the County Fiscal Officer's Linked Deposit Program more effective and efficient for County of Summit business and homeowners. The linked deposit program provides...
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Unburdened: How Canceling Student Debt Can Boost Growth, Equity, and Innovation
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level National
State(s) All States
Source Roosevelt Institute
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Education
This fact sheet outlines the impacts of canceling student debt on borrowers' lives and the state of the economy as a whole. Benefits include making homeownership more feasible, increasing borrower's freedom and mobility, reducing unemployment, boosting entrepreneurship, and more....
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Advancing Racial Equity in the City of Oakland's Small Business Ecosystem
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town
State(s) California
Source The Greenlining Institute
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights
For small business owners of color, entrepreneurship remains a critical wealth-building tool providing a pathway to self-determination and the middle class. In Oakland and nationally, entrepreneurs of color face significant barriers in starting and scaling their business due to the...
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The Economic Impact of the Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Programs on the State of California
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2009
Level County
State(s) California
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance
Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy in the United States. Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Office of Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration documented that small businesses accounted for over 92% of the net new jobs creation between 1989 and...
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The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2008
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance
We estimate the effects of Wal-Mart stores on county-level retail employment and earnings, accounting for endogeneity of the location and timing of Wal-Mart openings that most likely biases the evidence against finding adverse effects of Wal-Mart stores. We address the endogeneity...
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Wage Inequality and Firm Growth
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2015
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Finance & Procurement, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance
We examine how within-firm skill premia - wage differentials associated with jobs involving different skill requirements - vary both across firms and over time. Our firm-level results mirror patterns found in aggregate wage trends, except that we find them with regard to increases...
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Small Business Relief Programs: Local and State Governments Have Marshalled $9.27 Billion for Small Business Relief, But Desperately Need More Funds
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town, County, State, National
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Economic Justice
Cities, counties, states, and community organizations have established more than 800 programs to provide financial assistance to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. As these programs provided by local and state governments run out of funds, this report argues that additional...
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Licenses and Permits for Small Business Owners
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2014
Level City or Town
State(s) Massachusetts
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Finance & Procurement, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance
A checklist document for obtaining licenses and permits for small business owners....
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Tax Breaks and Inequality: Enriching Billionaires and Low-Road Employers in the Name of Economic Development
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2014
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Community Development, Public Spaces, Finance & Procurement, Children & Families, Health, Democracy & Governance, Education
The intensification of economic inequality, one of the defining issues of our times, has many causes, ranging from the weakening of labor unions to the decimation of inheritance taxes. This report argues that another factor belongs on the list: subsidies given by state and local governments...
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Thinking Differently About Development
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2013
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Finance & Procurement, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Housing, Public Safety, Food, Health, Environment & Natural Resources, Children & Families
The data consistently confirm that mixed-use, dense development produces greater revenues per acre than low-density patterns. In most cases, the proportion of revenue growth is exponential, not proportional, based on density increases....
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Supporting Entrepreneurs and Small Business
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2014
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Finance & Procurement, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance
Local leaders recognize and often publicly tout the importance of a strong, growing entrepreneurial and small business community. Yet, when it comes to supporting entrepreneurs in practice, many local leaders are unsure how they can make a real impact. Experts suggest that one essential...
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The Role of Local Elected Officials in Economic Development
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2010
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Community Development, Public Spaces, Democracy & Governance
Economic development is the process of building strong, adaptive economies. Strategies driven by local assets and realities, a diverse industry base and a commitment to equality of opportunity and sustainable practices have emerged as those that will ensure a strong foundation for...
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2014 Independent Business Survey
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2014
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Finance & Procurement, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance's 7th annual Independent Business Survey gathered data from 2,602 independent, locally owned businesses across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The respondents encompass a range of business types. A little over half are retailers. The...
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Searching for Economic Development Equity: An Overview of Leading Economic Development Entities in Atlanta, Detroit, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Memphis
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town
State(s) Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee
Source Good Jobs First
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Community Development, Housing, Transportation & Mobility
Memphis is experiencing unequal growth; while some neighborhoods are benefitting from new development, increased investments and an increase in high-paying jobs, others are experiencing decline or lagging in growth. This paper examines how economic development activities are structured,...
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The Contribution of Large and Small Employers to Job Creation in Times of High and Low Unemployment
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2012
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance
We document a negative correlation, at business cycle frequencies, between the net job creation rate of large employers and the level of aggregate unemployment that is much stronger than for small employers. The differential growth rate of employment between initially large and small...
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Safeguarding Small Business During The Pandemic: 26 Strategies For Local Leaders
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level Other Boards and Agencies
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Community Development
America's small businesses are facing an existential crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has closed shops and offices across the nation, with dire economic consequences. And the local governments and nonprofit organizations that support small businesses are on the front lines of this crisis....
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Poll Report: Small business owners' views on retirement security
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2013
Level City or Town
State(s) -
Source American Sustainable Business Council
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights
This report, which contains the results of a scientific national phone survey of small business owners (2 to 99 employees) conducted in March 2013, is designed to inform policy discussions about retirement security and serve as a basis for evaluating proposals that address the needs...
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