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Week of June 25 - July 1, 2007 |
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Hispanic Business magazine
has just released its 25th annual listing of the HB 500, the fastest
growing Hispanic-owned firms in the US. This year’s top performer is
Miami-based Brightstar, a cell phone distributor with annual revenues
topping $3.6 billion. In honor of the list’s 25th anniversary, Hispanic
Business also includes an interesting history of how the HB500 and the
world of Hispanic entrepreneurs have changed since the list’s inception
in 1983. Needless to say, things have changed quite a bit. In fact, the
original HB500 list only included only 400 firms due to the challenges
of identifying fast-growing Hispanic companies. That original list had
total combined revenues of $3.7 billion, barely higher than Brightstar’s
$3.6 billion performance in 2006. In 1985, service, retail and food were
the three biggest sectors on the list. Today, wholesale, service and
construction are the top sectors. Nineteen firms have been on the list
for all twenty-five years. |
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The Brookings Institution’s
Hamilton Project, a research effort affiliated with centrist Democrats,
has released a new series of reports focused on reforming America’s tax
system. The reports, released at recent research symposium, examine how
the tax system can be updated to “reduce inequality, expand opportunity,
and respond to the realities of a global economy.” The studies contain a
host of ideas, but most public attention has been focused on former
Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers’ plan to overhaul US corporate
taxes. Summers and his colleagues note that American businesses have
used too many loopholes to avoid paying taxes. They note that, when
compared to other developed economies, the US has the 2nd highest
corporate tax rate. Yet, when actual corporate tax levies are measured
as part of government revenues, the US falls to number 26 among the
thirty members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD). The researchers recommend a number of specific
policy changes, but they generally support efforts that require
corporations to use more transparent reporting standards. This move will
limit corporation’s ability to use illegitimate tax shelters and other
loopholes. |
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Boosting Britain's Minority Entrepreneurs
Great Britain’s Department
of Trade and Industry (DTI) has recently announced creation of a new
Ethnic Minority Business Task Force to help boost business ownership
among Great Britain’s ethnic minorities and to help existing businesses
achieve faster growth rates. As in the US, Britain’s minorities face
some unique hurdles when trying to start or grow a new business. Recent
DTI-sponsored research that British minority business owners are more
likely to be rejected for business finance and to be discouraged from
applying for outside financing in the first place. Some of these
differences may be the result of market forces, but researchers have
found that other factors may also be at play. The Task Force’s job is to
assess the role of these additional factors and to offer recommendations
for closing the finance gap. |
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Federal Support for Small Manufacturers
At the request of several
Members of Congress concerned about the fate of America’s small
manufacturers, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has
published a detailed summary of all Federal programs that provide
support to small manufacturers. The survey results are quite
interesting. Overall, GAO identified 254 Federal programs that provide
support to the business sector. Within this group, twenty programs
provide support to manufacturers, and five are targeted especially to
small firms. While GAO could not obtain data on spending in all twenty
of these programs, its analysts estimate that Washington spent a total
of roughly $35 million (over three years) to support anywhere from 8,000
to 9,000 small manufacturing firms per year. Very few of the Federal
programs provide direct financial assistance; most focus on providing
technical support and other types of assistance. At first glance, it may
appear that, with only five targeted programs, small manufacturers have
very few options for Federal support. However, as GAO notes, small
manufacturers are more likely to obtain support from general business
support initiatives as opposed to programs that are targeted only to
their specific niche. |
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Business Cluster Programs in Europe
If you’re looking to learn
more about cluster-based innovation strategies in Europe, a new report
from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is the
place to start. Competitive Regional Clusters: National Policy
Approaches is a massive compendium that examines regional cluster
strategies in fourteen different OECD member countries. The report does
not take a position on the pros and cons of cluster-based strategies,
but instead focuses on the details of program implementation: what kinds
of policy tools are used, how are program participants selected, and how
do different levels of government collaborate effectively? The report,
which includes detailed case studies for each country, concludes with
several important “lessons learned.” First, policymakers must be very
explicit in determining the “whys” of cluster policies. What are the
intended outcomes of the programs? Second, cluster policies cannot
operate in a vacuum. They must be closely integrated with other efforts
to promote innovation and technology development. Finally, cluster
policies are doomed to failure without active leadership from the
private sector. |
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The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. |
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National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
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stories © 2007 The Public Forum Institute
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