The Wealth Gap and the Racial Disparities in the Startup Ecosystem

43 Pages Posted: 17 Aug 2018

Date Written: August 16, 2018

Abstract

Although much attention has been given to structural inequality as it manifests in the criminal justice context, little has been said about economic inequality as it relates to the startup ecosystem. This Article details how the historic creation of the wealth gap affects entrepreneurship, highlighting how the wealth gap adversely impacts entrepreneurs of color. Entrepreneurship is a compelling solution to wealth inequality, but wealth inequality can be an impediment to success in entrepreneurship. This Article explains how the United States’ history of bolstering wealth creation for some, while inhibiting wealth creation for people of color, matters for understanding the startup ecosystem today. This Article describes how access to traditional and innovative sources of capital raising perpetuates the racial wealth gap, and this Article makes concrete proposals for addressing these shortcomings.

Suggested Citation

Pantin, Lynnise, The Wealth Gap and the Racial Disparities in the Startup Ecosystem (August 16, 2018). St. Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 62, No. 2, 2018, Boston College Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 486, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3233073

Lynnise Pantin (Contact Author)

Columbia Law School ( email )

435 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10025
United States

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