Lucia Lo

Ethnicity and utilization of family physicians: A case study of Mainland Chinese immigrants in Toronto, Canada

This paper seeks to examine how immigrants in a multicultural society access and utilize culturally- and linguistically-diverse family physicians. It focuses on Mainland Chinese (MLC) immigrants - the most important source of immigrants to Canada since 1996 - in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), Canada. Specifically, the paper aims to explore the choice between Chinese-speaking and non-Chinese-speaking family physicians by MLC immigrants and to determine the underlying reasons for MLC immigrants use of ethnically- and linguistically-matched family physicians. A wide range of data are analyzed including survey and focus group data, physician data from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) and geo-referenced 2001 Canadian Census data. A mixed-method approach is employed combining quantitative analysis of survey data and Census data, spatial analysis of patient travel behaviour based on the survey and qualitative analysis based on focus groups. The paper reveals an overwhelming preference among MLC survey respondents for Chinese-speaking family physicians regardless of study areas and socioeconomic and demographic status. The focus groups suggest that language, culture and ethnicity are intertwined in a complex way to influence the choice of health care providers and health management strategies in the host society. The paper yields important policy implications for identifying health professional shortage areas for culturally-diverse populations, addressing issues related to foreign-trained physicians and enhancing primary care delivery relevant for immigrant populations.

Immigrant Entrepreneurship, Institutional Discrimination, and Implications for Public Policy: A Case Study in Toronto

Immigration since World War 2 has been a primary engine of economic, social, and cultural change in Canada. Two of its important characteristics have been its ‘urban’ character and the non-European origins of immigrants since the 1960s. The Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) has been a major destination for those immigrants who have entered the self-employed sector of the economy in ever-larger numbers. The authors focus on the barriers and challenges experienced by the Polish, Portuguese, Caribbean, Korean, and Somali immigrants in the establishment and operation of their businesses in the Toronto CMA. With information collected through key-informant interviews, a questionnaire survey, and focus groups, it is found that, despite the Canadian commitment to multiculturalism at all levels of government, visible-minority entrepreneurs still confront more barriers in their business practice than do non-visible-minority entrepreneurs, with access to financing being a persistent problem. Given the increasingly multicultural nature of major Canadian cities and the acknowledged role of immigrants as an engine of economic growth, the authors identify barriers to entrepreneurship among immigrants as an area of clear concern both for policymakers and for scholars, and suggest solutions to address this concern.

Relationship between Immigrant Settlement Patterns and Transit Use in the Greater Toronto Area

Much of the research on immigrants has centered on their economic assimilation or integration. Few scholarly articles have examined the impact that immigrants have on the transportation system, especially those immigrants who have bypassed central city locations and settled in suburban areas where transit infrastructure is more limited. This paper addresses this issue by focusing on two interrelated issues: (1) the effect immigration has on metropolitan public transportation infrastructure in terms of high usage rates, and (2) the effect the governing structure in metropolitan areas has on immigrant settlement and integration in terms of the need for government investments in public transportation in the suburbs. The greater Toronto area is used as a case study to examine these issues. The implications for transit and immigration policies across different urban scales and levels of government are also discussed. The study concludes that transit needs to be recognized as a key ingredient for the success of the immigrant settlement process, which requires the involvement of all levels of government in the provision of modern and effective public transit services.

Spatial structure and spatial interaction: a simulation approach

In this paper, variations in the impedance parameter of the conventional spatial interaction models are examined in a quasi-empirical manner. In a previous paper, a spatial demand model based on the translog indirect utility function was simulated to provide interaction data. If the inputs to the translog demand model are varied systematically, the impedance parameter estimates for both models also vary systematically. In general, the impedance parameter becomes less negative as the set of destinations becomes more dispersed, as relative size among the origins and the destinations becomes more varied, and, in particular, as fewer destinations become substitutable or the degree of substitutability decreases. Meanwhile, model performance also deteriorates. The need for skepticism regarding model transferability and parameter interpretation is confirmed, and the possibility of ever correctly specifying the models is questioned.

The Role of Ethnicity in the Geography of Consumption

Two notable trends in immigrant gateway cities—the growth of immigrant-owned businesses and accelerated ethnic marketing efforts of mainstream firms—raise an interesting research question of how ethnicity interacts with accessibility in the geography of consumption. Given that many immigrants today are better educated and more affluent than their predecessors, and an ethnic business and its mass counterpart can differ little in size and product variety terms, it is intriguing to discover how urban consumers choose between businesses owned and operated by ethnic minorities and those in the mass market. Based on two surveys, this article compares the grocery shopping behavior of Chinese immigrants and the rest of the population in two study areas in one of the most culturally diverse urban regions of the world—Toronto, Canada. Although a large Chinese population and mainstream supermarkets are found in both locations, one of the study areas is characterized by a high concentration of Chinese supermarkets, and the other contains only one. Analyses show that Chinese and non-Chinese populations in Toronto exhibit distinct grocery shopping behaviors. Chinese supermarkets and mainstream supermarkets are complementary consumption sites for Chinese residents but independent ones for non-Chinese. The role of ethnicity/culture is strong. Recognizing the sociocultural embeddedness of immigrant shoppers and the cultural representation of ethnic retail spaces, this study raises the question of how effective ethnic marketing can be in the case of grocery retailing from the perspective of both mainstream and Chinese businesses, with implications for immigrant community development, urban retail planning, and national multicultural and integration policies.

Destination interdependence and the competing-destinations model

There are two types of destination interdependence; one arises because of peoples preferences towards destination activities, and the other because of the locational arrangement of space. Destination interdependence affects spatial behaviour. In a previous paper it was shown that the conventional gravity model can handle neither aspect of destination interdependence. In this paper it is shown that the competing-destinations model, as a reformulated gravity prototype, is at best able to describe only locational structure effects.

Sustaining Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Small- and Medium-sized Cities

Abstract Whereas immigrant entrepreneurs are seen as engines of economic growth and sustainable urban development, small- and medium-sized cities (SMCs) are challenged by their lack of tradition and appropriate infrastructure in settling/integrating immigrants. This article asks if geography matters in theories on immigrant entrepreneurship, and to what extent immigrant entrepreneurs in SMCs are embedded in social relations. A case study conducted in a medium-sized Canadian city finds that immigrant entrepreneurship in SMCs is characterised by a low degree of social embeddedness, and immigrant entrepreneurs are more satisfied with their accomplishment and optimistic about their business future than their non-immigrant counterparts. It raises questions about the general applicability of current theories that ignore the role of geography in affecting the social, economic and institutional contexts of the place where immigrants conduct their economic endeavours, and suggests how SMCs can attract and retain immigrant businesses.

If Quebec Goes . . . The ‘Exodus' Impact?

In this paper, we explore migration aspects of the 1995 Quebec Sovereignty Referendum with data from a survey administered to non-francophones in Montreal two weeks prior to the Referendum. While the Quebec sovereignty issue has been around for some time and earlier exodus from the province, particularly among anglophones, is largely regarded as “forced” in some way, this study neither confirms the 1995 Sovereignty Referendum as a paramount factor in explaining outmigration from Quebec nor points to a real reluctance to leave Montreal. The decision to move is influenced by the interplay of a multitude of factors. The political influence is only an added factor to longstanding economic decline and cultural clash. Moreover, if there is any impulsion, the degree varies among different cultural and socioeconomic groups.

U.S. Minority Depository Institutions at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century

ABSTRACT In the current era of intensified global migration and economic change, the simultaneous movement of people, money, services, and information alter the socioeconomic demographic makeup as well as the financial dynamics of countries. Building on our previous work on ethnic banking, this article examines the size, nature, and capacity of the new minority depository institutions (MDIs) in the United States. It identifies the reasons for the establishment of these new MDIs and their distribution in relation to immigration dynamics, and observes the role of social capital in their operation. It finds that contemporary financial dynamics pertaining to immigrants and minorities is rooted and localized in different ways and with different groups. Some MDIs are more globally connected or less locally embedded than others. Their utilization of social capital or ethnic assets also varies. In asserting that global financial situations and global money flows have significantly affected the emergence of MDIs, we suggest some policy interventions to facilitate the healthy growth of MDIs.

Cross-Sector Partnerships in the Provision of Services to New Immigrants in Canada: Characteristics, Relevance and Constraints

ABSTRACT The integration of newcomers to Canada is a complex undertaking that involves many players working together in various formal or informal partnership arrangements. This paper focuses on the bilateral but asymmetrical relationship between governments and immigrant-serving organizations. The findings indicate that although there is agreement on what the partnership should look like, the two parties see integration in different perspectives: short-term versus long-term outlook and economic integration versus a more holistic view. The article explores whether contractual relationships can be considered partnerships and differentiates between macro–sector-to-sector partnerships versus those between government and individual organizations.