Ethnic Enclaves
Social Processes
Immigration
Steven J. Gold,
Steven J. Gold
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Search for more papers by this authorSteven J. Gold,
Steven J. Gold
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Ethnic enclaves are geographically delimited regions wherein a community of immigrants characterized by common national or ethnic origins as well as class diversity owns a significant fraction of local businesses. By pooling business skill and investment capital within an environment of shared solidarity and coethnic employment, group members are able to successfully compete in the host society's economy such that both owners and workers are protected from the economic disadvantages (in the form of low returns on their investments in human capital) that recent immigrants generally encounter when seeking jobs in a host society's labor market. Through reliance on the ethnic enclave, immigrant populations are able to acquire wealth and provide their children with education sufficient to enter the middle class of the host society.
This essay traces the origin and development of the ethnic enclave, discusses the debates it inspired, and considers its contributions as well as the critiques to which it has been subject. The essay concludes with suggestions for future research that can link the ethnic enclave formulation with emergent themes in the study of international migration and ethnic economies.
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Further Reading
-
Fairlie, R., & Robb, A. M. (2008). Race and entrepreneurial success: Black-, Asian-, and White-owned businesses in the United States. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
10.7551/mitpress/7961.001.0001 Google Scholar
- Light, I. (1972). Ethnic enterprise in America: Business and welfare among Chinese, Japanese and Blacks. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Light, I., & Gold, S. J. (2000). Ethnic economies. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
-
Portes, A. (2010). Economic sociology: A systematic inquiry. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
10.1515/9781400835171 Google Scholar
-
Portes, A., & Bach, R. (1985). Latin journey: Cuban and Mexican immigrants in the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press.
10.1525/9780520907317 Google Scholar
- Sanders, J. M., & Nee, V. (1987). Limits of ethnic solidarity in the ethnic enclave economy. American Sociological Review, 52, 745–767.
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