ABSTRACT
The invisible hand of the market cannot conceal color. This study contends that the economy is an extension of society’s system of racial and ethnic stratification. The central argument of this study is that the internal colonial paradigm should be used as a guiding principle in the analysis of minority business development in minority markets. Through the use of this paradigm, the institutional constraints of doing business in a minority market can be identified. Elevating the analysis of minority business development to an institutional level serves academic and practical ends. It allows for a more holistic understanding of the relationship between institutional forces and individual economic action, and it allows public officials to draw from these insights in a way that informs sound public policy. Although many issues are discussed in this study, its focus is on forwarding an argument for the internal colonial framework to public discourse. To build support for this argument, a case study is presented that focuses on the role of race and ethnicity in a specific sector of the economy, the ethnic beauty aids industry in Chicago. Through this case study, issues that affect the structure of minority businesses and their relative competitiveness will be examined. This goal of this analysis is to highlight the economic mechanisms responsible for the maintenance and reproduction of internal colonialism within the context of minority markets.
