Do (Can) ESOPs make a difference in ecomomically distressed communities?  The National Center for Employee Ownership recently posted the following:

In its January-February 2019 newsletter, the NCEO will unveil research that examines the impact of ESOPs on distressed communities as defined by the Distressed Communities Index created by the Economic Innovation Group. Fifty million people live in the 5,177 ZIP codes identified as distressed, and ESOPs in those ZIP codes employ over 150,000 people and made over $400 million in ESOP contributions during 2015. Stay tuned for more!

According to the Economic Innovation Group, 17.9% of Indiana’s population is living in an area classified as an economically distressed zip code (p.12) and 21.5% of the population is living in an area classified as a propserous zip code (p.13).  These results may be consistent with the Sagamore Institute report which identified an increase in the poverty rate in every major Indiana city from 2000-2015 (see the previous blog post)

Once this research is released the Indiana Center for Employee Ownership will examine the data for impact specific to Indiana communities and report back.