Enterprising Refugees: Contributions and Challenges in Deprived Urban Areas

Abstract

The role of enterprise in addressing the problems of deprived urban areas has been an area of emphasis within recent British urban policy. Yet the potential for such policies among increasingly diverse and often highly deprived populations remains poorly understood. This issue is particularly pertinent with respect to refugees where self-employment and enterprise creation is a route pursued by some, yet there remains limited understanding of the role and impact of enterprise within refugee communities and the constraints they face. Drawing upon original primary data, this paper presents findings related to the local impacts of refugee enterprises, the constraints refugees face in starting and running enterprises, and the adequacy of existing business support infrastructure to their needs. The paper concludes with a consideration of the challenges for the future development of business support policy and services for refugees.

Exploring the entrepreneurial intentions of Syrian refugees in the UK

“…Labour market disadvantage theory (Light, 1979) and the related blocked mobility hypothesis (Raijman and Tienda, 2003) posit that individuals facing such job market barriers are likely to turn to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 self-employment. This is considered to be the situation for many refugees (Lyon et al, 2007), who are thought to be 'pushed' into entrepreneurial activity by external forces (e.g. unemployment), rather than 'pulled' by personal motivations and desirable perceived outcomes (Gilad and Levine, 1986).…”

The Integration of Forced Migrants Into the Italian Labor Market

“…Research on this topic is more common in such non-European countries as the United States (e.g., Connor, 2010;Hume & Hardwick, 2005), Canada (e.g., Aydemir, 2011;Codell, Hill, Woltz, & Gore, 2011;Wilkinson, 2008), and Australia (e.g., ColicPeisker & Tilbury, 2006;Hugo, 2011;Waxman, 2001). In Europe most studies have been conducted in long-established-immigrant-receiving countries such as Great Britain (Bloch, 2007;Hussein, Manthorpe, & Stevens, 2011;Lyon, Sepulveda, & Syrett, 2007), Sweden (Åslund,Östh, & Zenou, 2010;Bevelander, Hagstromand, & Ronnqvist, 2009), the Netherlands (De Vroome & Van Tubergen, 2010), and Belgium (Wauters & Lambrecht, 2008). An interesting point arising from these studies is that although there are substantial differences in the legislation in place, the welfare provision available, and the definition of forced migrants some findings concerning their living conditions are quite common.…”

“…When forced migrants do have a job, moreover, this is usually low-status, low-paid, insecure, and physically demanding, resulting in widespread over-qualification of workers (e.g., Åslund et al, 2010;Colic-Peisker & Tilbury, 2006). Low levels of education or working skills, too, are frequently obstacles to labor integration (Hugo, 2011;Hussein et al, 2011;Wauters & Lambrecht, 2008) and often related to poor language skills (Connor, 2010;Lyon et al, 2007;Waxman, 2001). Sometimes long stays in reception centers are found to be negatively correlated with employment and occupational status (De Vroome & Van Tubergen, 2010;Korac, 2003;Schuster, 2004).…”

Realising the Diversity Dividend: Population Diversity and Urban Economic Development

“…It also signals the importance of considering the wider benefits that arise from migrant and ethnic business activity, rather than focusing only upon a narrow economic case. In this respect the wider contribution of ethnic business to develop services that meet local needs, enhance community development, and build social capital through the mutual provision of advice and information exchange, also needs to be recognised (Lyon et al, 2007).…”