Tuesday 26 March 2019

Diversity, economic development and new migrant entrepreneurs

an article by Trevor Jones and Monder Ram (University of Birmingham, UK) and Maria Villares-Varela (University of Southatmpton, UK) published in Urban Studies Volume 56 Issue 5 (April 2019)

Abstract

How do migrant entrepreneurs contribute to economic development? The growing attention to the contribution that migrants make tends to be skewed towards their economic role.

Drawing on interviews with 49 new migrant business owners and 60 workers in the West Midlands, UK, we argue that benefits of diversity should be explored beyond the economic dividend. We engage with key theoretical developments in the fields of migrant entrepreneurship and diversity economics, and show that migrant entrepreneurs are characterised by the polarisation of their performance between high fliers and survival entrepreneurs.

Despite their overall resource poverty, migrant entrepreneurs on the lower level create employment for their locality, cater to community needs and cushion the social incorporation of new communities in British society.

We argue that debates around the benefits of diversity should incorporate not only economic growth, but also its impact on social processes.


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