Technology-enabled platforms and services have helped facilitate an expansion of online business activity, contributing to increased rates of entrepreneurship in the United States. However, concentration in the online marketplace has also increased, with implications for the costs that entrepreneurs must pay to access potential customers and for their ability to compete on a level playing field.

       In assessing the evolving benefits and costs of the online marketplace, as well as the potential impacts of future regulatory activity, it will be essential to more systematically monitor the trajectories and experiences of entrepreneurs in this space. Doing so can help to ensure that entrepreneurship remains a viable pathway to sustainable financial success for business owners and their employees.

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       RAND Lowy Family Middle-Class Pathways Center Feb 25, 2021

       Research conducted by RAND Education and Labor

       Funding for this research was funded by the Lowy family. The research was conducted within the RAND Lowy Family Middle-Class Pathways Center within RAND Education and Labor.

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