In the past few years, a considerable number of immigrants have established their own businesses. In doing so, they have contributed in many ways to the economic development of American and European metropolitan areas. Some businesses have been incorporated into the mainstream, while others have stayed on the economic fringes and got engaged in the informal economy. The starting point of this book is that a proper understanding of these businesses is served by focusing on the embeddedness of immigrant businesses in their economic, politico-institutional and social environments from a multi-disciplinary perspective rather than confining the attention to ethnic-cultural or economic sociological aspects only.

Autorentext

JAN RATH is Senior Researcher and Project Manager in the interfaculty Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES) at the University of Amsterdam. He received his MA degree in cultural anthropology and urban studies and a PhD from Utrecht University. He is the founding and managing editor of the Dutch quarterly journal Migrantenstudies. He is author of numerous articles, book chapters and reports on the sociology, politics and economics of post-migratory processes, amongst others Minorisation: The Social Construction of 'Ethnic Minorities', and co-editor of the book Immigrant Self-Employment in the Netherlands. He and Robert Kloosterman are co-founders of an International Network on Immigrant Entrepreneurship.

Zusammenfassung
The starting point of this book is that a proper understanding of these businesses is served by focusing on the embeddedness of immigrant businesses in their economic, politico-institutional and social environments from a multi-disciplinary perspective rather than confining the attention to ethnic-cultural or economic sociological aspects only.

Inhalt
List of Tables and Figures Preface Notes on the Contributors Introduction: Immigrant Businesses and Their Economic, Politico-institutional, and Social Environment; J.Rath Regionalization in a Globalizing World: The Emergence of Clothing Sweatshops in the European Union; S.Raes Market Potential as a Decisive Influence on the Performance of Ethnic Minority Business; T.Jones, G.Barrett & D.McEvoy Location Matters: Ethnic Entrepreneurs and the Spatial Context; A.Rekers & R.van Kempen Small Form Financial Contracting and Immigrant Entrepreneurship; R.Watson, K.Keasey & M.Baker Immigrant Entrepreneurship and the Institutional Context: A Theoretical Exploration; R.Kloosterman State Regulatory Regimes and Immigrants' Informal Economic Activity; G.P.Freeman & N.Ögelman The Economic Theory of Ethnic Conflict: A Critique and Reformulation; R.Waldinger The Social Capital of Ethnic Entrepreneurs and Their Business Success; H.Flap, A.Kumcu & Bert Bulder Globalization and Migration Networks; I.Light International Migration, Undocumented Immigrants and Immigrant Entrepreneurship; R.Staring References Index