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Immigrants and entrepreneurship

Author

Listed:
  • Magnus Lofstrom

    (Public Policy Institute of California, USA, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract
Immigrants are widely perceived to be highly entrepreneurial, contributing to economic growth and innovation, and self-employment is often viewed as a means of enhancing labor market integration and success among immigrants. Accordingly, many countries have established special visas and entry requirements to attract immigrant entrepreneurs. Research supports some of these stances, but expectations may be too high. There is no strong evidence that self-employment is an effective tool of upward economic mobility among low-skilled immigrants. More broadly prioritizing high-skilled immigrants may prove to be more successful than focusing on entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Magnus Lofstrom, 2014. "Immigrants and entrepreneurship," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-85, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:n:85
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jennifer Hunt & Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle, 2010. "How Much Does Immigration Boost Innovation?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 31-56, April.
    2. Ken Clark & Stephen Drinkwater, 2010. "Patterns of ethnic self-employment in time and space: evidence from British Census microdata," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 323-338, April.
    3. Robert W. Fairlie & Bruce D. Meyer, 2003. "The Effect of Immigration on Native Self-Employment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(3), pages 619-650, July.
    4. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2016. "Immigrant Entrepreneurship," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges, pages 187-249, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Pekkala Kerr, Sari & Kerr, William, 2020. "Immigrant entrepreneurship in America: Evidence from the survey of business owners 2007 & 2012," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    6. William R. Kerr & William F. Lincoln, 2010. "The Supply Side of Innovation: H-1B Visa Reforms and U.S. Ethnic Invention," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(3), pages 473-508, July.
    7. Magnus Lofstrom, 2011. "Low-skilled immigrant entrepreneurship," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 25-44, March.
    8. Amelie Constant & Klaus Zimmermann, 2006. "The Making of Entrepreneurs in Germany: Are Native Men and Immigrants Alike?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 279-300, April.
    9. Magnus Lofstrom, 2002. "Labor market assimilation and the self-employment decision of immigrant entrepreneurs," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 15(1), pages 83-114.
    10. Lofstrom, Magnus & Wang, Chunbei, 2006. "Hispanic Self-Employment: A Dynamic Analysis of Business Ownership," IZA Discussion Papers 2101, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Magnus Lofstrom, 2013. "Does self-employment increase the economic well-being of low-skilled workers?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 933-952, May.
    12. David M. Hart & Zoltán J. Ács, 2015. "High-Tech Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the United States," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 31, pages 604-617, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Robert W. Fairlie & Julie Zissimopoulos & Harry Krashinsky, 2010. "The International Asian Business Success Story? A Comparison of Chinese, Indian and Other Asian Businesses in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom," NBER Chapters, in: International Differences in Entrepreneurship, pages 179-208, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2016_033 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Jan Wiers & Didier Chabaud, 2022. "Bibliometric analysis of immigrant entrepreneurship research 2009–2019," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 12(1), pages 441-464, December.
    2. Ratan J. S. Dheer & Aycan Kara, 2024. "Immigrants’ entrepreneurial intentions: acculturation-based socio-psychological lens," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 2979-2999, December.
    3. Hausmann, Ricardo & Nedelkoska, Ljubica, 2018. "Welcome home in a crisis: Effects of return migration on the non-migrants' wages and employment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 101-132.
    4. Nick Drydakis, 2022. "Improving Entrepreneurs’ Digital Skills and Firms’ Digital Competencies through Business Apps Training: A Study of Small Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-23, April.
    5. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2016. "Immigrant Entrepreneurship," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges, pages 187-249, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Robert Fairlie, 2020. "The impact of COVID‐19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social‐distancing restrictions," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 727-740, October.
    7. Steven A. Brieger & Michael M. Gielnik, 2021. "Understanding the gender gap in immigrant entrepreneurship: a multi-country study of immigrants’ embeddedness in economic, social, and institutional contexts," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1007-1031, February.
    8. Ana Cuadros & Juan Carlos Cuestas & Joan Martín-Montaner, 2021. "Self-employment convergence in Europe: The role of migration," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(4), pages 1-14, April.
    9. Lee, Jun Yeong & Winters, John V., 2021. "Too Cold to Venture There? January Temperature and Immigrant Self-Employment across the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 14941, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Magnus Klofsten & Ellen MacEachen & Christian Ståhl, 2021. "New and small firms in a modern working life: how do we make entrepreneurship healthy?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 755-763, August.
    11. Johan Klaesson & Özge Öner, 2021. "Ethnic enclaves and segregation—self-employment and employment patterns among forced migrants," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 985-1006, February.
    12. Hausmann, Ricardo & Nedelkoska, Ljubica, 2017. "Welcome Home in a Crisis: Effects of Return Migration on the Non-Migrants’ Wages and Employment," Working Paper Series rwp17-015, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    13. Drydakis, Nick, 2024. "Reducing the Gender Digital Divide Amongst Immigrant Entrepreneurs," IZA Discussion Papers 17275, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Mengdie Ruan & Angathevar Baskaran & Shanshan Zhou, 2022. "Mainland Chinese Immigrant-owned SMEs in Malaysia: Case Studies," Millennial Asia, , vol. 13(1), pages 5-34, April.
    15. Dheer, Ratan J.S. & Lenartowicz, Tomasz, 2020. "Effect of generational status on immigrants’ intentions to start new ventures: The role of cognitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(3).
    16. Monica Roman & Dorel Mihai Paraschiv, 2019. "The Young Entrepreneurs of Europe and the Role of International Mobility," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 21(S13), pages 763-763, November.
    17. Emilie Sophie Le Caous & Fenghueih Huarng, 2021. "Economic Complexity and Human Development: Moderated by Logistics and International Migration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, February.
    18. Öner, Özge & Klaesson, Johan, 2018. "Ethnic Enclaves and Labor Market Outcomes – What Matters Most: Neighborhood, City or Region?," Working Paper Series 1251, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    entrepreneurship; self-employment; innovation; immigrants; immigration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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