Little Business on the Prairie

In Little Business on the Prairie: Entrepreneurship, Prosperity, and Challenge in South Dakota, economic historian Robert Wright reviews the state's economic history through the lenses of its public policies, politics, and institutions of governance.

The book demonstrates that an economy that suffers from palpable disadvantages, like long distance from major markets and low population density, will still thrive if it is governed efficiently. In other words, crucial public goods like education, infrastructure, and justice should be provided at minimal cost, and entrepreneurs should not be burdened with excessive regulatory and tax expense.

Economic performance suffers when governance is poor and public goods are provided at an unnecessarily high cost. This Wright shows by comparing South Dakota to other states and by examining the economies of the state's Indian reservations. Public goods provisions on reservations is spotty and generally very poor and, not surprising, reservation economies lag far behind that of the state even though individual Native Americans have shown considerable entrepreneurial skill.

Little Business on the Prairie concludes with Wright's prescription for confronting the economic and governance challenges that lie ahead for South Dakota.