Volume 10, 2001

Issue No. 1: The Chinese Ethnic Economy

Fong, Eric
"Introduction: The Chinese Ethnic Economy," Vol. 10 (1), p. 1-8, 2001

Salaff, Janet, Arent Greve, and Siu-Lun Wong
"Professionals from China: Entrepreneurship and Social Resources in a Strange Land," Vol. 10 (1), p. 9-33, 2001

New skilled immigrants may have a hard time getting jobs. Among other reasons, local employers may not value their foreign-earned credentials. This could prompt professional and technical immigrants to start a business instead. In this paper, we examined how educated immigrants from the People’s Republic of China avoid underemployment in Canada by setting up their own businesses. We found that many immigrants brought entrepreneurial backgrounds with them. However, their entrepreneurial experience was linked to their human capital, which was dynamically related with the organizational needs of large, complex bureaucracies back home. Once in Canada, where their social resources are diminished, few could reestablish enterprises. Without these supporting relations, skilled immigrants are not prime candidates for entrepreneurship.

Fong, Eric 
"Participating in the Ethnic Economy and Psychological Well-Being," Vol. 10 (1), p. 35-52, 2001

Although there had been various studies on the consequences of participating in the ethnic economy, there has been a notable absence of research exploring the life satisfaction of those participating in it. A 1998/1999 survey of Chinese immigrants in metropolitan Toronto was analyzed to measure the life satisfaction of those participating in and outside the ethnic economy. Those working in the ethnic economy reported higher levels of life satisfaction than those working outside it. Five models were tested and the results suggest that the life satisfaction of immigrants does not relate to participation in the ethnic economy when workplace factors are taken into account. While the study did not find any specific effect on participation in the ethnic economy and life satisfaction, it invites further study on other aspects such as job satisfaction.  

Light, Ivan
"Globalization, Transnationalism and Trade,"Vol. 10 (1), p. 53-79, 2001

Investigating the relationship between immigration, middleman minority status, transnationalism and US foreign trade, the author assembled a census-based data file that contains aggregate-level variables for 88 foreign born groups by national-origin between 1980 and 1990. Immigrant characteristics and immigration volume were regressed upon time-lagged import/export statistics from the same 88 nations between 1985 and 1995. Results show the independent influence on exports of immigrant entrepreneurship, transnationalism and middleman minority status. But these variables had no effect on US imports; they only affected exports. The discrepancy between imports and exports arises because of the dominance of English as a world business language, itself a product of globalization.  Foreigners need no help from immigrants when they export to the United States, but native-born, monolingual Americans need the help of bilingual immigrants when they export. Globalization has eventuated in the worldwide dominance of English, which causes this situation to arise.  

Szonyi, Michael
"The Graveyard of Huang Xiulang: Early Twentieth Century Perspectives on the Role of the Overseas Chinese in Chinese Modernization," Vol. 10 (1), p. 81-98, 2001

For more than a century, the importance of the economic and human  capital generated in ethnic Chinese economies abroad to the modernization of China has been a subject of interest to political leaders, intellectuals and Overseas Chinese alike. This paper uses a collection of documents commemorating the construction of a distinctive cemetery by a prominent Overseas Chinese from Fujian to explore the early twentieth century discourse on the nature and significance of Overseas Chinese contributions to modernization efforts. This discourse is characterized by tensions about the appropriate basis for Chinese modernity, the appropriate role for the Overseas Chinese in the modernity project, and the need to domesticate the transnationalism of the Overseas Chinese to enable them to play that role.

Li, Peter S.
"Chinese Canadians in Business," Vol. 10 (1), p. 99-121, 2001

Conventionally, restricted opportunities in the open market, in combination with the presence of suitable ethnic resources, provide the explanation as to why some immigrant groups are more inclined towards business undertakings than others. More recently, the immigrant enclave thesis developed in the US suggests that some immigrant entrepreneurs are attracted to ethnic business because of its lucrative returns. Using the case of Chinese Canadians from the microdata of the 1996 Census of Canada, this paper finds that the net returns of self-employment vary among Chinese Canadians. Self-employment brings a net earning disadvantage for foreign-born Chinese-Canadian men, as well as for women irrespective of nativity. Only native-born Chinese-Canadian men in self-employment maintain a net advantage over their counterpart wage workers. These findings suggest that the Chinese Canadians engage in self-employment for different reasons, depending on gender and nativity. Thus, both the argument of business engagement as a “last choice” as implied in the blocked mobility thesis, and that of a “first option” as suggested in the immigrant enclave thesis can be valid even for the same ethnic group.  

Ooka, Emi 
"Social Capital and Income Attainment Among Chinese Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Toronto," Vol. 10 (1), p. 123-144, 2001

New economic sociologists have focused on the positive effect of social capital embedded in the ethnic structure on the individual’s economic actions. However, recent studies on middle-class immigrants provide inconsistent support for this view. This study examines the significance of social capital by investigating the relationship between the income attainment of immigrant entrepreneurs on the one hand, and two forms of institutional arrangements, co-ethnic firm linkages and co-ethnic personal recruitment, on the other. We found that social capital embedded in the ethnic structure does not play a significant role in the income attainment of Chinese immigrant business owners in Toronto. Rather class resources and social capital beyond the ethnic structure significantly increase the level of income attainment.

Luk, Chiu M.
"Subethnicity and Identity: Socio-cultural Interpretations of Chinese Business Titles in Toronto,"Vol. 10 (1), p. 145-167, 2001

This paper examines the theme of subethnicity in the study of subgroups of ethnic Chinese in Toronto and their identities. Using the Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese clientele as examples, this paper examines the business strategies of a selected sample of Chinese businesses with noticeable subethnic targets. Socio-cultural interpretations are offered on how these businesses package themselves through their business titles. The results confirm that there are distinctions among the three subgroups, reflecting the diverse orientations and values of their backgrounds. The study concludes with a discussion on the importance of ethnic sub-market segmentation and the implications of subethnicity to ethnic studies.  

Bernard, Richard B.
"Married Chinese Women’s Labor Force and Self-Employment Participation in the United States in 1990: A New Look from Ethnic Subgroup Perspectives," Vol. 10 (1), p. 169-198, 2001

This article examines variations in the labor force and self-employment participation of married Chinese women in the United States in 1990. Using three measures of ethnicity from the 1990 census – race, place of birth and ancestral identification – the study found that each of the objective and subjective measures of ethnicity do no coincide perfectly, suggesting that Chinese immigrants in the United States rely on different ethnic dimensions to determine how they interpret their Chineseness. The findings of the study lean more towards the Emergent Ethnicity School given subgroup variations in women’s paid labor force and self-employment participation on at least two ethnic dimensions — place of birth and ancestry. Married women born in Taiwan or claiming a Taiwanese origin differ in their economic participation in the United States compared to their counterparts from Mainland China. Future research needs to look into why behaviors of subgroups of Chinese vary.