ILSR’s Independent Business Initiative produces a wealth of research, articles, model policies, and how-to resources. Here are a few highlights:
The Hometown Advantage Bulletin
Sign up for our monthly newsletter to get the latest research, analysis, and how-to resources.
Key Studies on Big-Box Retail & Independent Business
We have compiled the best research on how big retailers and independent businesses affect communities and local economies.
ILSR’s Annual Independent Business Survey
ILSR’s annual Independent Business Survey gathers data from thousands of locally owned, independent businesses across the country.
Why We Can’t Shop Our Way to a Better Economy: Stacy Mitchell’s TEDx Talk
There’s been a resurgence of support for small farms, local businesses, and community banks, but in this TEDx Talk, Stacy Mitchell argues: “As remarkable as these trends are, they are unlikely to amount to more than an small sideshow on the margins of the mainstream if the only way we can conceive of confronting corporate power and bringing about a new economy is through our buying decisions…”
Towards a Localist Policy Agenda
To regenerate local businesses, we’ll need more than Buy Local campaigns; we’ll need to change public policy, which now favors big business. This presentation looks at seven key policy areas to focus on.
Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses by Stacy Mitchell (Beacon Press, 2006)
Select articles:
Cities where small, locally owned businesses account for a relatively large share of the economy have stronger social networks, more engaged citizens, and better success solving problems, according to several recently published studies.
Of all the places President Obama might give a speech on job creation, an Amazon warehouse is a particularly perplexing choice. Here are five ways Amazon is costing our economy and undermining real job growth.
Cape Cod is the rare community that considers regional economic impacts when weighing big-box retail development, and that makes all the difference.
In an exciting new development for the local economy movement, seven independent business organizations have come together to launch the Advocates for Independent Business (AIB).
Starting a Buy Local First initiative:
- American Independent Business Alliance
- Top 10 Reasons to Choose Locally Owned Businesses
- How to Launch a Buy Local Campaign
