Immigration and Entrepreneurship: the Role of Enclaves
2020-11-23 17:00 | Zoom
Astrid Marinoni (University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management)
Astrid Marinoni (University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management)
"Immigration and Entrepreneurship: the Role of Enclaves"
Discussant: Ina Ganguli (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Abstract
Immigration is a major force driving entrepreneurial dynamics that affects the competitive landscape of an economy, as well as its growth prospects. In investigating the impact of immigration on entrepreneurship, this study focuses on how the presence of enclaves alters this relationship, by relying on a novel dataset on incorporation in Great Britain. I examine the impact of Polish immigration to Great Britain by exploiting the unprecedented migration wave caused by the European Union enlargement in 2004. To instrument for enclaves and immigration flows, I use the presence of historical Polish military settlements as well as a shift-share instrument that considers the historical occupational composition and growth of Polish immigration in Ireland. The results indicate that immigration increases immigrant entrepreneurship, but this does not hold in existing immigrant enclaves. Additional analyses exploring the mechanisms suggest that the blocked labor market in non-enclave areas could be the main driver for the increase in entrepreneurship. When examining growth, I find that immigrant entrepreneurs outside enclaves tend to achieve worse outcomes, providing support to the idea that they might resort to entrepreneurship out of necessity.

EPFL Virtual Innovation Seminar
EVIS is a bi-weekly virtual seminar series focusing on Science, Technology and Innovation topics studied through the lens of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Finance.
