What factors limit the advancement of broad ownership policies?

[Deborah Groban Olson <dgo@esoplaw.com>]

Dear Homesteaders:

        Michael Harrington, and economist at the Milken Institute,  and I had an
off-line discussion tonight which I want to share, hoping it will generate
in-kind responses aimed at developing a research and development agenda for
COG and its members.

        We discussed Michael's economic research on employee ownership and the
difficulties in getting the message heard and taken seriously by economists
and policy makers. Michael said there was little financial support for
research on binary economics and thus, little hard evidence to support the
ideas. He believes that currently most of those who support broad ownership
do so based on intuitive beliefs that it should improve the macro economy.

        I would like your thoughts on the following questions, and would be
delighted to receive documents attached to your responses for inclusion in
our library:

1) What economic research has been done to present mainstream economists
with data to support broad ownership?

2) What research has been done which supports the position that broad
ownership is better for the individual employee owners?

3) What research has been done which supports the position that broad
ownership is better for the individual society, locally, nationally or
globally?

4) What research has yet to be done in each of the above categories that
would be useful to us in developing policy and strategic proposals?

5) How can we pool our collective knowledge and resources to get this
research organized, financed and completed?

6) What constituencies, not currently inolved in our network, will benefit
by our work?

7) How do we best reach these constituencies and involve them in this work?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Deb Olson


        
Deborah Groban Olson
Project Co-ordinator
Capital Ownership Group Project
Ohio Employee Ownership Center
Kent State University
c/o Shared Equity Strategies, Inc.
3163 Penobscot Building 
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 331-7821 or (313) 964-2460
(f) (313) 331-2567
email: dgo@esoplaw.com
web site: http://cog.kent.edu