Daniel Hiebert

Economic associations of immigrant self‐employment in Canada

In the last 30 years or so we have seen a proliferation of research projects on immigrants and non‐white minorities in the labour market (labour market segmentation) and as entrepreneurs (ethnic entrepreneurialism). Each of these literatures helps us understand the nature of immigrant and minority participation in the labour market, but each only offers a partial view. In this paper, I bring these topics together in an empirical investigation of the relationship between ethnic labour market segmentation and ethnic entrepreneurialism in Canada, using 1996 census data. I show that there is a close correspondence between the niches where immigrants and minorities find work, and those where they become entrepreneurs. Immigrants who are drawn to niches that offer few opportunities for self‐employment have low rates of entrepreneurship and, conversely, those who are over‐represented in niches with considerable scope for self‐employment are inclined to establish their own businesses. This shows that the propensity for self‐employment is, to an important degree, determined in the regular labour market. Therefore, entrepreneurship should not be seen as an intrinsically cultural phenomenon (i.e. that certain groups are “naturally” entrepreneurial), but instead as arising out of the opportunity structure associated with wage and salary labour.

The spatial limits to entrepreneurship: Immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada

Labour market participation and the income of immigrants in the Canadian economy, both as employees and entrepreneurs, is investigated. Special attention is devoted to the situation of those who entered Canada as business immigrants, who have been admitted into the country due to their past accomplishments in managing and establishing businesses in other parts of the world. This programme is based, essentially, on the logic of globalisation, that success in one location can be replicated in another despite different economic and regulatory environments. Using the Canadian Immigration Database, which links the landing records of immigrants with their subsequent tax returns, the economic performance of different types of immigrants to Canada is explored. The data reveal that business immigrants have lower incomes and rates of entrepreneurship than would be expected; in contrast, refugees settling in Canada appear to have higher rates of participation in the Canadian labour market as well as higher incomes. This turn of events suggests that there are critical spatial limits to entrepreneurial success. More precisely, business acumen gained in one location may not apply in another. Copyright Royal Dutch Geographical Society 2002.

The social geography of Toronto in 1931: A study of residential differentiation and social structure

Abstract The aggregate distribution of ethnic and occupational groups in Toronto in 1931 is documented, based on a seven per cent sample of households drawn from tax rolls. Labour and housing markets were tightly enmeshed in Toronto, and ones occupation decisively influenced the value and quality of housing one could afford. However, the association between housing consumption and ethnic origin was less clear: the average value of dwellings occupied by members of different ethnic groups was relatively consistent. Yet the same data reveal a residential landscape that was divided primarily by ethnicity, with particularly sharp distinctions between non-charter immigrant reception areas near the centre of Toronto and neighbourhoods populated largely by those of British descent elsewhere. Occupational differences were also imprinted in the spatial order of the city, but less strongly and in less visible patterns. These findings are discussed in the context of three theories of the relationship between class, ethnicity, and the spatial structure of the city. Theories predicated on the assumption that different forms of social division exist independently are found wanting, and intersections between class and ethnicity, between economic constraints and cultural processes, are emphasized.

Discontinuity and the Emergence of Flexible Production: Garment Production in Toronto, 1901–1931

The economic and spatial evolution of Torontos garment industry during the early 20th century is examined. Two stages of development are outlined. The 1901–1915 period was marked by the rapid growth of large, vertically integrated clothing factories. This trend was reversed after 1915, however, when small, vertically disintegrated clothing firms began to recapture the market for ready-made apparel. These economic changes were accompanied by equally profound shifts in the geography of clothing production. An explanation for the discontinuous evolution of clothing production must include a careful investigation of the relationship between labor and capital, the nature of subcontracting, and the ethnic composition of the garment work force. In focusing on the clothing industry, this study highlights some of the limitations of the concept of Fordism as it is currently used in economic geography. Fordist forms of production and labor organization were introduced by garment manufacturers during the early 20th ...

Class, ethnicity and residential structure: the social geography of Winnipeg, 1901–1921

Abstract Relations between class and ethnic groups in Winnipeg are examined, especially as they were manifest in the residential landscape of the city. The spatial sorting of these groups is documented using a five per cent sample of households drawn from the 1901 and 1921 city directories. Findings indicate that while the segregation of ethnic groups increased dramatically, the degree of class-based residential segregation remained virtually constant. Yet relations between classes became exceedingly strained during this period, particularly between 1914 and 1919. Thus there was no simple correspondence between segregation by class and class consciousness in Winnipeg (unless one believes in an inverse relationship between the two!). However, I argue that ethnic identification and class consciousness evolved simultaneously in Winnipeg, although ethnic attachments were more readily transferred to the residential landscape. Further, many immigrants believed that their ethnic and class interests were inseparable, and therefore the growing trend toward ethnic residential segregation did not impede—and may in fact have accelerated—the emergence of class consciousness.