The Death of Imagination

I'm sure that's a factor, although I'm dubious on it being a stronger factor than Black merchants having trouble getting loans and other forms of institutional support. I recently finished Sudhir Venkatesh's "Off the books" and he talks a lot about this kind of interdependence in ways that I think would support your idea of it mattering. But he also seems to think that the lack of governmental and bank support is the more critical factor.