Ethnic Entrepreneurship: A Theoretical Framework

Abstract

(from the introduction:) With the recent growth of new ethnic populations in Western societies, ethnic business is no longer a matter of strictly historical interest; neither is it parochial American concern. Because new ethnic populations have grown at a time when Western economies are in a phase of slow growth and massive technological challenge, ethnic adaptation and mobility are central issues to economic research (Waldinger et al., 1990a: 13). In Europe, businesses run by persons from minority ethnic groups have always been present, but three changing historical circumstances have increased their salience and visibility over the past decades. Firstly, massive immigration from former colonies, southern Europe and North Africa has led to a considerable migration flows. Secondly, three decades of economic restructuring have led to a fundamental transformation of the labour market and a general shift away from employment in large firms to self-employment in small ones. This trend has hit certain immigrant groups much harder than indigenous populations, which is reflected by the higher unemployment rates among immigrants (Barret et al., 1996). Thirdly, the opportunity structure for ethnic business has become more favourable as Europe's changing industrial structure has led to a resurgence of small and medium-sized enterprises (Blaschke et al., 1990). The main objective of this chapter is to develop a framework for understanding the dimensions in ethnic entrepreneurship. Factors influencing the establishment of an ethnic enterprise are multifaceted and include education, generation, the local population, the economic situation, job opportunities, location, cultural and religious ifferences, and the origin. The result, viewed from a macroeconomic perspective, presents a very complex and dynamic mosaic, which usually moves too fast for statistics to keep up.

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