Why Local Matters

In-Depth

Key Studies: Why Local Matters

January 8, 2016

A growing body of research is giving us new ways to quantify the harms of bigness and the benefits of local ownership. In this post, we round-up the important studies and provide the evidence that policymakers can use to craft better laws, business owners can use to rally support, and citizens can use to organize their communities.READ MORE

Why Care about Independent, Locally Owned Businesses?

Marie Donahue

July 23, 2018

Locally owned businesses play a central role in healthy communities and are among the best engines that cities and towns have for advancing economic opportunity and building resilient places. Here, we outline five important reasons for local officials to support independent businesses, based on a growing body of research.READ MORE

New Studies Reveal 5 Reasons Policymakers Should Prioritize Local Business in 2016

Olivia LaVecchia

January 12, 2016

Recent findings from prominent economists, sociologists, and other researchers suggest that small, local businesses are critical to overcoming many of our biggest challenges, from reducing economic inequality to building resilient communities. We round up the new studies and look at what they tell us about why policymakers should focus on strengthening local businesses everywhere.READ MORE

The Impact of Chain Stores on Community

Stacy Mitchell

April 18, 2000

In this classic talk, delivered at the annual conference of the American Planning Association, Stacy Mitchell describes how, contrary to conventional wisdom, the decline of independent businesses isn't inevitable or the result of free market forces. Rather, public policy decisions have played a major role — and a growing number of communities are deciding to take a different approach.READ MORE

Featured Articles

Why Small Businesses Matter for Workers

Stacy Mitchell

April 18, 2018

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

For Cities, Big-Box Stores Are Becoming Even More of a Terrible Deal

Olivia LaVecchia

June 16, 2015

Under what has become known as the "dark store" method, big-box retailers are declaring their busy stores to be functionally obsolescent and therefore nearly worthless for tax purposes —and they're winning big judgments for back taxes. It's the latest example of the way that, even as local governments continue to bend over backwards to attract big-box development, these stores are consistently a bad deal for communities.READ MORE

The Do-It-Yourselves Downtown

Olivia LaVecchia

February 23, 2015

There's an emerging model that offers a glimpse of a new, better way for communities to generate economic development. It's called a real estate investment cooperative, and the benefits include new jobs in the neighborhood, local sources for key goods, a return on investment, and more — plus the opportunity for communities to do it themselves.READ MORE

Locally owned businesses can help communities thrive — and survive climate change

Stacy Mitchell

April 26, 2013

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.READ MORE

Local Ownership Makes Communities Healthier, Wealthier and Wiser

Stacy Mitchell

July 18, 2012

Most policymakers don't imagine that their economic development decisions will affect such things as voter turnout or the prevalence of chronic disease. But a growing body of research is finding that scale and ownership of business matter in ways that extend far beyond economic outcomes.READ MORE

Factsheets & Infographics

The Ripple Effect When You Shop Local (Infographic)

Olivia LaVecchia

November 21, 2017

When you choose locally owned businesses for your shopping, you create a ripple effect. Our new infographic shows what happens when you shop local — starting with you.READ MORE

Top 10 Reasons to Support Locally Owned Businesses

Stacy Mitchell

December 10, 2012

Here are the ten short-and-sweet reasons why supporting independent businesses is critical to the well-being of our communities and our economy.READ MORE

Audio & Video

Why We Can't Shop Our Way to a Better Economy: Stacy Mitchell's TEDx Talk

Stacy Mitchell

December 1, 2012

In this TEDx talk, Stacy Mitchell makes the case for a new phase in the local economy movement.READ MORE

Watch: Stacy Mitchell Speaks on the New Localism

ILSR

March 4, 2016

ILSR's Stacy Mitchell spoke about policy to shape the next phase of the local economy movement in this presentation at the 2016 Winter Institute. The annual conference and educational event, hosted by the American Booksellers Association, was held in Denver on Jan. 25 and 26.READ MORE

What Neighborhood Retail Gets Right (Episode 27)

Nick Stumo-Langer

August 24, 2017

Gina Schaefer, the founder and owner of several local hardware stores in Washington, D.C., joins us to talk about starting and growing a neighborhood business and how her stores are faring in the age of Amazon.READ MORE