Latino Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship in the United States: An Overview of the Literature and Data Sources

While significant attention has been paid to the growth of the Latino population and its contribution to the U.S. labor market, less scholarly and popular media attention has focused on Latino self-employment, entrepreneurship, and business growth. A review of interdisciplinary research literature on Latino entrepreneurship over the past twenty-five years indicates a gap in our knowledge about the accelerated growth in Latino small business ownership across the United States. The authors provide an overview of the current state of research on Latino entrepreneurial activities and recommend a broader research agenda that includes community-based organizations as part of the entrepreneurship landscape in urban and rural high-density Latino communities.