Seminar by Prof. Yoonha Kim, Georgetown University
Event details
| Date | 09.11.2018 |
| Hour | 12:00 › 13:30 |
| Speaker | Prof. Yoonha Kim, Georgetown University |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
"Preference vs Constraints: Generational Transmission of Immigrant Entrepreneurship"
Abstract
Why are immigrants more likely to own businesses than natives? Some scholars emphasize immigrants’ “preferences” for entrepreneurship, while others emphasize “constraints” and the lack of non-entrepreneurial alternatives in explaining the “Immigrant-Native self-employment gap”. Given that labor market constraints are more readily alleviated by second-generation immigrants, while innate preferences are more inheritable, I argue that the gap should decrease for second-generation immigrants if constraints dominate preferences in immigrant entrepreneurship. Nationally representative data from the U.S. reveal the following: i) the entrepreneurship gap decreases for second-generation immigrants, especially among ethnic groups that face greater labor market frictions; ii) these disadvantaged ethnic groups make greater investment in human capital of their children; and iii) conditional on entering self-employment, second-generation immigrants are more likely to incorporate their businesses relative to their parents. I discuss how these results can be interpreted as how immigrants facilitate upward socioeconomic mobility through investments in entrepreneurship and human capital.
Abstract
Why are immigrants more likely to own businesses than natives? Some scholars emphasize immigrants’ “preferences” for entrepreneurship, while others emphasize “constraints” and the lack of non-entrepreneurial alternatives in explaining the “Immigrant-Native self-employment gap”. Given that labor market constraints are more readily alleviated by second-generation immigrants, while innate preferences are more inheritable, I argue that the gap should decrease for second-generation immigrants if constraints dominate preferences in immigrant entrepreneurship. Nationally representative data from the U.S. reveal the following: i) the entrepreneurship gap decreases for second-generation immigrants, especially among ethnic groups that face greater labor market frictions; ii) these disadvantaged ethnic groups make greater investment in human capital of their children; and iii) conditional on entering self-employment, second-generation immigrants are more likely to incorporate their businesses relative to their parents. I discuss how these results can be interpreted as how immigrants facilitate upward socioeconomic mobility through investments in entrepreneurship and human capital.
Practical information
- General public
- Free