Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ethnic enclaves and the earnings of self-employed Latinos

  • Published:
Small Business Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the investigation reported here, I have tested the ethnic enclave hypothesis, focusing on self-employed Cuban and Mexican immigrants. Specifically, I have compared the economic returns for self-employed Cuban immigrants in Florida with those of Mexican immigrants in California and Texas. The analysis shows that self-employed Mexican immigrants who remain within Mexican enclaves earn substantially lower earnings than those in non-enclave environments. In contrast, the earnings of Cuban immigrants self-employed within Cuban enclaves are comparable to those earned by Cubans employed within the general labor market. Overall, my findings are contrary to the ethnic enclave hypothesis, which suggests that there are economic advantages associated with owning firms in ethnic enclaves.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Although this definition allows for comparisons with other types of areas, one downside is that the exact processes, which might be better detailed in an ethnographic study, are overlooked.

  2. Puerto Ricans are a larger Hispanic group than Cubans, but they are not technically an immigrant group.

References

  • Aguilera, M. B. (2003). The impact of the worker: How social capital and human capital influence the job tenure of formerly undocumented Mexican immigrants. Sociological Inquiry, 73, 52–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilera, M. B. (2005). The Impact of social capital on the wages of Puerto Rican migrants. The Sociological Quarterly, 46(4), 569–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich, H., Cater, J., Jones, T., McEvoy, D., & Velleman, P. (1985). Ethnic residential concentration and the protected market hypothesis. Social Forces, 63(4), 996–1009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. (1999). Multiple regression: A primer. London: Pine Forge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, T., & Waldinger, R. (1991). Primary, secondary, and enclave markets: A training systems approach. American Sociological Review, 56, 432–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bates, T. (1994). Social Resources generated by group support networks may not be beneficial to Asian immigrant-owned small businesses. Social Forces, 72(3), 671–689.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geertz, C. (1963). Peddlers and princes. Chicago: University Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbertson, G. A. (1995). Women’s labor and enclave employment: The case of Dominican and Colombian women in New York City. International Migration Review, 29(3), 657–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbertson, G. A., & Gurak, D. T. (1993). Broadening the enclave debate: the labor market experiences of Dominican and Colombian men in New York City. Sociological Forum, 8(2), 205–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hout, M., & Rosen, H. (2000). Self-employment, family background, and race. Journal of Human Resources, 35(4), 670–692.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hum, T. (2000). A protected niche? Immigrant ethnic economies and labor market segmentation. In L. D. Bobo, M. L. Oliver, J. H. Johnson Jr., & A. Valenzuela Jr. (Eds.), Prismatic metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles (pp. 279–313). New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, L., & Portes, A. (1992). Comments and replies: The enclave and the entrants: patterns of ethnic enterprise in Miami before and after Mariel. American Sociological Review, 57(3), 411–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D. Y. (1999). Beyond co-ethnic solidarity: Mexican and Ecuadorean employment in Korean-owned businesses in New York City. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(3), 581–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Light, I. (1972). Ethnic enterprise in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Light, I., & Gold, S. J. (2000). Ethnic economies. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Light, I., & Karageorgis, S. (1994). The ethnic economy. In N. J. Smelser & R. Swedberg (Eds.), The handbook of economic sociology (pp. 647–671). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, P., Zuiker, V. S., & Montalto, C. P. (2000). Self-employed Hispanics and Hispanic wage earners: Differences in earnings. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 22(1), 114–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology 24, 1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Bach, R. (1985). Latin journey: Cuban and Mexican immigrants in the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Jensen, L. (1987). What’s an ethnic enclave? The case for conceptual clarity. American Sociological Review, 52(6), 767–771.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Jensen, L. (1989). The enclave and the entrants: Patterns of ethnic enterprise in Miami before and after Mariel. American Sociological Review, 54, 929–949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Jensen, L. (1992). Comments and replies: Disproving the enclave hypothesis. American Sociological Review, 57(3), 418–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Landolt, P. (1996). The downside of social capital. American Prospect, 94(26), 18–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Zhou, M. (1996). Self employment and the earnings of immigrants. American Sociological Review, 61, 219–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raijman, R. (2001). Mexican immigrants and informal self-employment in Chicago. Human Organization, 60(1), 47–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raijman, R., & Tienda, M. (2000). Immigrant pathways to business ownership: A comparative ethnic perspective. International Migration Review, 34, 682–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raijman, R., & Tienda, M. (2003). Ethnic foundations of economic transactions: Mexican and Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in Chicago. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 26(5), 783–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, J. M., & Nee, V. (1987). Limits of ethnic solidarity in the enclave economy. American Sociological Review, 52, 745–773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, J. M., & Nee, V. (1992). Comments and replies: Problems in resolving the enclave economy debate. American Sociological Review, 57(3), 415–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, J. M., Nee, V., & Sernau, S. (1994). Job transitions in an immigrant metropolis: Ethnic boundaries and the mixed economy. American Sociological Review, 59(8), 49–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tienda, M., & Raijman, R. (2000). Immigrants’ income packaging and invisible labor force activity. Social Science Quarterly, 81(1), 291–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2000) Twenty-second census of the United States. Suitland, MD: U.S. Census Bureau.

  • Waldinger, R. (1986). Through the eye of the needle: Immigrants and enterprise in New York’s garment trades. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, K. L., & Martin, A. W. (1982). Ethnic enclaves: A comparison of the Cuban and Black economies in Miami. American Journal of Sociology, 88(1), 135–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, K. L., & Portes, A. (1980). Immigrant enclaves: An analysis of the labor market experiences of Cubans in Miami. American Journal of Sociology, 86(2), 295–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, I. (1995). The growth of Korean immigrant entrepreneurship in Chicago. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 18(2), 215–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, I. (1997). On my own: Korean businesses and race relations in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, M., & Logan, J. (1989). Returns on human capital in ethnic enclaves: New York City’s Chinatown. American Sociological Review, 54, 809–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zsembik, B. (2000). The Cuban ethnic economy and labor market outcomes of Latinos in metropolitan Florida. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 22, 223–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation. I would like to thank Howard Aldrich, Timothy Bates, James Elliott, Jim Johnson, and Sylvia Pedraza for their support and feedback on this project. I would also like to thank Eduard Tabor for his help with coding the data and Elizabeth Hancock for her editorial assistance. This research was presented at the 2007 American Sociological Association conference in New York and the 2008 Research Conference on Entrepreneurship among Minorities and Women, held at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403-1291, USA

    Michael Bernabé Aguilera

Authors
  1. Michael Bernabé Aguilera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Bernabé Aguilera.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Aguilera, M.B. Ethnic enclaves and the earnings of self-employed Latinos. Small Bus Econ 33, 413–425 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-009-9206-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-009-9206-6

Keywords

JEL Classifications

Search

Navigation