Characteristics of migrant entrepreneurship in Europe

Abstract

The present paper aims to investigate and compare various modalities of migrant entrepreneurship in European countries in order to design a systematic classification of migrant entrepreneurship and to highlight key factors of migrant entrepreneurship in Europe. The paper is based on a comparative assessment of available quantitative data and qualitative information derived from a broad review of findings from previous studies in the literature. Our quantitative evaluation includes the European OECD countries, while our qualitative investigation addresses migrant entrepreneurship experiences in eight European countries: Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and the UK. The results of our comparative analysis show that the general picture of European migrant entrepreneurship is determined by some distinct push factors such as high unemployment rates and low participation rates or low status in the labour market as well as by an accompanying factor, namely mixed embeddedness. The results of our comparative evaluation are summarized in a systematic typological table. These show that, while an informal and labour-intensive sector, an underground economy, and small companies and traditional households prompt migrant entrepreneurship in Southern European countries, an over-representation of non-Western immigrants among the self-employed, as well as relatively lower income levels of self-employed immigrants compared to both self-employed natives and employed immigrants are decisive for migrant entrepreneurship in Northern European countries.

Realising the Diversity Dividend: Population Diversity and Urban Economic Development

“…Second, because the higher rates of enterprise activity among migrant and ethnic groups reflects in large part the operation of adjustment and coping mechanisms by immigrants in the absence of alternative labour markets options, rather than any inherent preference for self-employment and enterprise (Baycan-Levent and Nijkamp, 2009;Blackburn and Ram, 2006). The difficulties of labour market integration (high unemployment rates, low participation rates, confinement to low status jobs) provide powerful reasons to move into self-employment.…”

“…As global competition between cities has increased (Musterd and Murie, 2010), for those cities where population diversity is a significant feature of the urban context, there has been increasing awareness of diversity as an important part of their asset base, providing a point of differentiation and source of competitive advantage (Bodaar and Rath, 2005;OECD, 2010). In seeking to realise the "diversity dividend" city boosters have pursued a number of different strategies from the branding of cities as vibrant, multicultural locations to attract investors, tourists, events and high skilled workers (Musterd and Murie, 2010;Rath, 2007), through to the promotion of ethnic businesses (Baycan-Levent and Nijkamp, 2009;;Hart et al, 2009;Ram and Jones, 2008), diaspora trading networks (e.g. Kitching et al, 2009;Kuznetsov and Sabel, 2006) ethnic quarters and festivals (Shaw, 2007), and innovative and creative activity (Florida, 2002;Wood and Landry, 2008).…”

Migrant Entrepreneurship in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities

“…Since entrepreneurship is one of the frequently used ways to escape unemployment in a host country, it is expected that migrants will attempt to choose self-employment. Baycan-Levent and Nijkamp (2005) wrote in their paper that in the last decades migrant enterprises have become more embedded in the European urban economy and therefore the largest cities in Europe become dynamic multicultural economies. These ethnic economies lead to social and economic change in European cities.…”

“…Europe generates its economic power through e.g. fiscal support in economic weak areas and care of migrant entrepreneurship which lead to know-how, culture and product transfer (Baycan-Levent, Nijkamp 2005).…”

How Do Information and Experience Play a Role in the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities? The Case of Latin-American Immigrants in Barcelona

“…The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. of immigrants has led to the rise of another phenomenon known in literature as immigrant entrepreneurship (Baycan-Levent & Nijkamp, 2009). Immigrant entrepreneurship has played an important role in the economy of many developed countries: at the micro-level, it increased employment opportunities for immigrants in the host country; at the meso-level it revitalized trade in some cities and created greater dynamic flows in the economy, and at the macro-level, it revived failed areas of the economy, thus leading to economic growth both at the national and regional levels.…”