Theorising Immigrant/Ethnic Entrepreneurship in the Context of Welfare States

Abstract

The authors discuss the dynamics of immigrant/ethnic entrepreneurship in different welfare state regimes through the prism of theoretical frameworks that were developed in the United States and Europe. It is argued that, contrary to the United States, in Europe this is largely a politically encouraged economic activity with the underlying aim of integration of immigrants into the majority society and maintaining public support for financial redistribution within a welfare state regime. These differences stem from conditions created by different types of welfare states and have a strong influence on the development of ethnic entrepreneurship theories on the two continents. Due to exploring ethnic entrepreneurship under different conditions: (neo)liberalism in the United States and (neo)corporativism in Europe, theories follow different lines of analytical reasoning.

Keywords

• immigrant/ethnic entrepreneurship
• welfare state
• integration