African American entrepreneurship in the suburbs - Protected markets and enclave business development

This article presents the results of a systematic, national comparison of b usiness performance among African American entrepreneurs located in cities and in suburbs. The data show that American entrepreneurs conducting busine ss outside the ghetto's protected market consistently outperform their coun terparts doing business within it. With minor exceptions, the findings sugg est strongly that African American entrepreneurs would be wiser to orient t heir business activities outside rather than inside the ethnic enclave. The implications of these findings for economic development planners are discu ssed and elaborated. Special attention is given to the limits that appear i nherent in community-based economic development initiatives.