IMPACT OF THE CONTEXT ON ETHNIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP

A Critical Analysis of the Impact of the Context on Ethnic Entrepreneurship



A Critical Analysis of the Impact of the Context on Ethnic Entrepreneurship

Introduction

Governments in many advanced industrial societies have encouraged, at the level of rhetoric at least, the formation and development of small businesses as a means of addressing the processes of industrial restructuring and decline. Though owing more to an unfavourable opportunity structure than to government exhortations, the growing participation of ethnic minorities in self-employment has been a conspicuous feature of the small business scene in many European countries (McEvoy and Jones, 1993; Ministère de la Solidarité, 1990; Waldinger et al., 1990). A number of features have contributed to the increased salience and visibility of ethnic minority businesses. First, large-scale immigration from former colonies has led to the growth of sizeable ethnic minority communities, particularly in large urban areas. Second, industrial restructuring has often precipitated the decline of large-scale employers; rather than relying on such conventional sources of employment, immigrants and their children have found themselves turning to entrepreneurship as an escape route. Finally, the apparent renaissance of the small firm sector seems to have created a favourable climate for the development of ethnic minority businesses (Blaschke et al., 1990).

Given the prominence of ethnic minority businesses across Western Europe and the complexity of the forces that account for their development, it is surprising that there has been little comparative work in this area. Although some attempts have been made to explain ethnic business development in particular countries (notably, by Waldinger et al., 1990), rare have been the instances of genuinely comparative research that aims to assess the experiences of minority entrepreneurs in different societies.

The Political Context

Britain and France have, in many ways, very similar histories of post-war migration. Both countries recruited low-skill workers to solve the problem of absolute labour shortages in expanding post-war economies. In many cases these workers came from colonies and ex-colonies including, in the case of France, the Maghreb, and in that of Britain, the Caribbean and South Asia.

In the case of South Asian and Maghrebian migrations they were, in the early stages, almost exclusively male. These men were “target” workers, their ambition to earn as much as they could in the migration setting (usually living frugally and collectively) to send home remittances and eventually to return themselves with enough money to lead a better life in their homelands. The relations of economic domination and subordination which characterized the colonial relationship were reflected in a racist ideological context in the migration setting. This racism was articulated not simply in pejorative labelling, such as “Paki” and “Arab”, but was demonstrated in widespread discrimination in housing, employment and the provision of services, as well as by racist violence (Miles and Phizacklea; 1984; Withol de Wenden, 1993).

In Britain a successful campaign against what was termed “coloured immigration” culminated in 1962 in the barring of the free entry of new workers from the British Commonwealth, though family reunion was ...