Amazon is framing itself as a boon for entrepreneurs, but in fact the company’s increasing dominance of the consumer goods market is having a profoundly negative impact on the nation’s small and mid-sized businesses.… Read More
Small businesses are sometimes criticized as being bad for workers — but that idea is wrong. In this piece, we look at how small and large businesses compare on concrete metrics like wages, and find that in some industries, including retail, employees at small businesses earn more. There’s also a larger way in which the interests of small businesses and working people are aligned, we argue: Both groups benefit when public policy works to disperse economic power.… Read More
ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell is the guest on the March 24 episode of “This Is Hell,” a longform interview podcast from Chicago’s WNUR. In the episode, “No competition: How Amazon swallowed the economy,” Stacy talks competition, platforms, and Amazon with host Chuck Mertz.… Read More
Monopolies are strangling competition and cutting off opportunity. In this feature for The Nation, we show how to stop them. … Read More
This cover feature for The Nation looks at how Amazon is a radically new kind of monopoly with ambitions that dwarf those of earlier empires, and what we should do about it. … Read More
Taking on Amazon. It’s a big subject. But in this episode of Rep. Keith Ellison’s podcast, “We the People,” ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell and Lina Khan of Open Markets join Rep. Ellison to talk about how to do just that — and why we need to. … Read More
In this 20-minute talk, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell looks at why cities need independent businesses, and also at some of the issues that are facing these businesses today — and why cities should use public policy to respond.… Read More
A thriving small business sector leads to more job growth, less inequality, higher median incomes, and stronger social bonds in your community. Yet aspiring entrepreneurs don’t have it easy. To help city leaders address the challenges facing independent businesses, ILSR organized and moderated a workshop at the City Summit 2017 conference put on by the National League of Cities in November.… Read More
ILSR’s annual Independent Business Survey gathers data from thousands of locally owned, independent businesses across the country. … Read More
