The representation of ethnic economies in industry clusters and the earnings differences of ethnic members from others: A case of Chinese in Canada

Abstract

Drawing from organizational, organizational ecology, and social network perspectives, we examined how earning differences between coethnic members (i.e., Chinese in Canada) and others (i.e., non-Chinese in Canada) were relatedto whether they participated in ethnic economy and also to the percentage of ethnic economies among related industrial sectors in a larger industry cluster. The study envisages ethnic economy is embedded in larger industry cluster and its operation is shaped by the larger industrial context. Drawing from the 2011 Canadian National Survey, we found thatthe percentage of ethnic economies among all related industrial sectors in an industry cluster was related to lower differences in the earnings of its coethnic members and others working there. The findings further showed that the relationship was significant for coethnic employees, but not for coethnic employers.

Well‐being of migrants and immigrants: Perspectives in Asia and from Asians in North America

“…Participating in an ethnic economy is a key route to immigrant economic success in many immigrant societies. Fong and Shu's paper (2022) extends the literature by situating the enclave economy in a larger industrial cluster in Canada. They examine how the representation of the enclave economy in different industries of an industrial cluster is associated with the earnings of ethnic and non‐ethnic members.…”

“…The three papers in this section echo this recent research trend, all going beyond individual characteristics of immigrants to address larger contextual factors that affect migrant socioeconomic integration. The contextual factors addressed in these papers include industrial cluster (Fong & Shu, 2022), growing economic ties between places of origin and destination (Tong et al., 2022), and migration policies of sending countries (Siu & Koo, 2022). Together they help highlight the importance of different contextual factors in understanding immigrant integration/acculturation in Asia or from Asia.…”

“…Host societies should not assume that the same ethnic group with a similar language is necessarily able to integrate more easily than others. The ethnicity economy paper (Fong & Shu, 2022) highlights that ethnic economies do not operate in isolation from the larger economy. They are embedded and nested in different industrial environments within the larger economy.…”

Economic integration among mainland Chinese immigrants during and after the period of Hong Kong's handover: The disparity between higher‐educated and lower‐educated groups

“…To explain the economic integration of immigrants, previous studies have focused either on the acculturation process of immigrants or on the reception context of the host society. The former emphasizes the learning and adaptation process of immigrants over time (Chiswick & Miller, 2009), while the latter tends to stress the role of the context of reception, such as the government's integration policy, the locals’ social attitudes as well as the ethnic community resources available to them (Berry, 2001; Fong & Shu, in press; Portes, 1995). Beyond these two factors, some studies on immigrant economic integration have also recognized the importance of the sending country context, cultural similarity or physical closeness between the sending and receiving places (Baltar & Icart, 2013; Feliciano & Lanuza, 2017; Fong et al., 2020; Luthr et al., 2018).…”