Promotional Information

Balkin examines whether low-income people should be encouraged to engage in self-employment as a route for economic improvement. Among the questions Balkin explores are the reasons self-employment is a successful alternative in some groups but has not been in others, why it is successful in those groups, and whether and how it could become a viable option

Table of Contents

Foreword by Robert E. Friedman
Preface
Background
Introduction
Self-Employment Theories
Empirical Analyses of Self-Employment
Immigrant and Ethnic Group Experience with Self-Employment
Black Business Movements
Program Descriptions
Self-Employment Programs in the Third World and Europe
Self-Employment Training Programs in the United States Targeted to Low-Income People
Policy and Evaluation
Policies to Encourage Self-Employment for Low-Income Persons: Modest Goals and Support Linkages
Policies to Encourage Self-Employment for Low-Income Persons: Creating Supportive Institutions and a Research Agenda
Job Creation Through Encouragement of Self-Employment
Evaluation for Self-Employment Programs
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

STEVEN BALKIN is Associate Professor of Economics at Roosevelt University. He has published on a wide variety of criminal justice topics. His research interests are poverty and economic development, focusing on issues relating to self-employment and microenterprises.

Reviews

?. . . Balkin examines self-employment as a route for economic improvement. He provides practical suggestions for those who operate self-employment programs, fund self-employment programs, consider policy concerning self-employment and look for alternative job creating and job-reducing strategies.?-Entrepreneurial Economy Review

?Can people who are unable to earn enough to raise their families above the poverty line because of a lack of education, skills, or sobriety become self-employed and do better both financially and socially? Balkin, thinks the answer is yes. He reviews the literature on this topic, including programs that have been tried, both in the US and in Europe. Balkin's judgments are formed by his own experiences in encouraging the development of such self-help programs and writing about them. One purpose of the book is to provide practical suggestions on steps policymakers should take or avoid but, in truth, experience with self-employment programs has been minimal. Perhaps that is why nearly a third of the book is devoted to the entrepreneurial experience of various groups, including the Amish and followers of Father Divine. Readers will be intrigued about the possibilities of turning low-income scam artists, prostitutes, and welfare mothers into commission sales people, masseuses, and vending-stand operators. Excellent bibliography. Provocative reading for academic and general audiences.?-Choice

." . . Balkin examines self-employment as a route for economic improvement. He provides practical suggestions for those who operate self-employment programs, fund self-employment programs, consider policy concerning self-employment and look for alternative job creating and job-reducing strategies."-Entrepreneurial Economy Review

"Can people who are unable to earn enough to raise their families above the poverty line because of a lack of education, skills, or sobriety become self-employed and do better both financially and socially? Balkin, thinks the answer is yes. He reviews the literature on this topic, including programs that have been tried, both in the US and in Europe. Balkin's judgments are formed by his own experiences in encouraging the development of such self-help programs and writing about them. One purpose of the book is to provide practical suggestions on steps policymakers should take or avoid but, in truth, experience with self-employment programs has been minimal. Perhaps that is why nearly a third of the book is devoted to the entrepreneurial experience of various groups, including the Amish and followers of Father Divine. Readers will be intrigued about the possibilities of turning low-income scam artists, prostitutes, and welfare mothers into commission sales people, masseuses, and vending-stand operators. Excellent bibliography. Provocative reading for academic and general audiences."-Choice