The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

We recognize that race, gender, and place intersect with and intensify the challenge of economic inequality and we address these dynamics by advancing an inclusive vision of economic justice. For over 25 years, EOP has focused on expanding individuals’ opportunities to connect to quality work, start businesses, and build economic stability that provides the freedom to pursue opportunity.

We collaborate with national and local leaders across the United States – nonprofit leaders, policymakers, labor leaders, business leaders, educators, academics, and more – and we actively seek input and ideas from individuals and communities affected by proposed approaches to address economic opportunity challenges. Through our leadership and fellowship programs; applied research and evaluation; data and analysis; and dialogue with diverse stakeholders, we work at both local and national levels to build understanding and galvanize action to address the challenge of economic opportunity in America.

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Sectoral Workforce Development: Research Review and Future Directions
Publications

Sectoral Workforce Development: Research Review and Future Directions

This report describes the proceedings of two meetings initiated by WSI in Spring 2004.

Staying Connected: Building Entrepreneurial Networks
Publications

Staying Connected: Building Entrepreneurial Networks

Volume six of FIELD’s Best Practice series explores the ways in which “networking” can be supported by microenterprise assistance programs.

The Informal Economy: Making It In Rural America
Publications

The Informal Economy: Making It In Rural America

This FIELD publication examines the experiences of 29 entrepreneurs living and working in several rural counties in Nebraska.

Research Report No. 3 – Microenterprise as a Welfare to Work Strategy: Two-Year Findings
Publications

Research Report No. 3 – Microenterprise as a Welfare to Work Strategy: Two-Year Findings

This third and final report on FIELD’s Welfare to Work Learning Assessment describes outcomes experienced two years after TANF clients enrolled in microenterprise programs.

The Informal Economy: Experiences of African Americans
Publications

The Informal Economy: Experiences of African Americans

This publication explores the experiences of African Americans who either operate their own informal businesses or are employed informally.

The Informal Economy: Latino Enterprises at the Margins
Publications

The Informal Economy: Latino Enterprises at the Margins

What are the barriers Latino entrepreneurs face and how might they be helped to move from the informal to the “formal” economy?

Business First: Using Technology to Advance Microenterprise Development
Publications

Business First: Using Technology to Advance Microenterprise Development

This fifth Best Practice Guide navigates the whirlwind of the technological revolution, introducing a framework by which microenterprise practitioners can use technology to enhance and expand their business, and offering practitioners guidance on assisting their clients with technology needs.

Community Development Financial Institutions
Publications

Community Development Financial Institutions

This report is a product of the CDFI Data Project (CDP)—a collaborative initiative that produces high-quality, comprehensive data about CDFIs on an annual basis.

Key Research Findings and Implications For The Workforce Investment Act
Publications

Key Research Findings and Implications For The Workforce Investment Act

Key Research Findings and Implications for the Workforce Investment Act, a new policy brief from WSI, draws on findings from a multi-faceted investigation of industry-specific or “sectoral” workforce development, to offer an overview of this research and discuss implications for Workforce Investment Act legislation.

A Measure of the Microenterprise Industry: A Report from MicroTest
Publications

A Measure of the Microenterprise Industry: A Report from MicroTest

This report from MicroTest draws on three years of performance data to offer a succinct description of trends in the microenterprise industry.

FIELD Forum Issue 14 – The Informal Economy and Microenterprise in the United States
Publications

FIELD Forum Issue 14 – The Informal Economy and Microenterprise in the United States

As practitioners know, microenterprises are more common in the United States than most people realize.

Microenterprise Support within Community Development Financial Institutions
Publications

Microenterprise Support within Community Development Financial Institutions

This free report describes the scale and significance of microenterprise lending within the CDFI industry.

About the Economic Opportunities Program

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

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More from the Economic Opportunities Program

Foundational Skills: National Survey Findings
Publications

Foundational Skills: National Survey Findings

This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.

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Podcasts Videos

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

This conversation is part of our Opportunity in America series, where we take a look at the economy, what’s working, what’s broken, and really how we fix it to make sure that everyone can succeed in today’s economy.

Resource Roundup: Wages and Affordability
Blog Posts
Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis
Publications

Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis

This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.

Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes
Podcasts Videos

Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes

Economic security shouldn’t be a lottery. Yet for millions of working families, stagnant wages and precarious jobs collide with the daily grind of managing money on shaky ground — leaving stability feeling less like a plan and more like a gamble. Fixing that takes more than one lever. It takes structural reform and the tools people need to take control of their financial lives, working together.

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers
Publications

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

Insights from Focus Groups with Employee Owners