Economic Benefits of Self‐Employment for Canadian Immigrants

Abstract

This paper evaluates the economic benefits of self-employment in Canada for 12 groups of ethno-racial immigrants. It tests whether or not their self-employment earnings are higher or lower than similar groups in wage and salary employment, whether ethnic minorities earn more or less from self-employment compared to White immigrants, and whether self-employment earnings of immigrant groups vary by their industrial sectors of employment. Using the Canadian Census 2006, I show that self-employed ethno-racial immigrants earn less than White immigrants. I also show that the economic benefits of self-employment depend on the ethno-racial groups and the industrial mix of their self-employment.

Language proficiency and sociocultural integration of Canadian newcomers

“…This is because the European newcomers in this study are from among the most underprivileged group, as their needs are greater than those of non-YMCA European immigrants. Given that the European or White newcomers have better opportunities than the non-Europeans or visible minorities (Nakhaie, 2006(Nakhaie, , 2015, results in this study tend to underestimate and provide a conservative estimate of ethnic differences.…”

“…This dichotomy between good and bad immigrants and refugees has resulted in a significant body of scholarship on assimilation and integration, much of which focuses on economic integration (Aydemir, 2011;Kazemipur & Halli, 2000;Kazemipur & Nakhaie, 2014;Nakhaie, 2006Nakhaie, , 2007Nakhaie, , 2015Nakhaie & Kazemipur, 2013;Stewart et al, 2008;Valenta & Bunar, 2010). Relatively less research has focused on the determinants of sociocultural integration of immigrants and refugees, and there has been particularly little attention given to differences in integration between various ethnic groups and/or among recently arrived first-generation newcomers.…”

Self‐Employment among Same‐Sex and Opposite‐Sex Couples in Canada

“…They may also experience taste‐based discrimination because employers and customers prefer to do business with native‐born Whites, rather than foreign‐born visible minorities (Pendakur and Pendakur , , ; Skuterud ). These have been important factors pushing immigrants into self‐employment; however, earnings for self‐employed immigrants in Canada are generally lower than from other forms of income (Beaujot et al ; Li ; Nakhaie ). For example, Nakhaie () used the 2006 Canadian Census and found most ethno‐racial immigrant groups had self‐employment incomes that were lower than the incomes of comparable immigrants working for wages and salaries.…”

“…These have been important factors pushing immigrants into self‐employment; however, earnings for self‐employed immigrants in Canada are generally lower than from other forms of income (Beaujot et al ; Li ; Nakhaie ). For example, Nakhaie () used the 2006 Canadian Census and found most ethno‐racial immigrant groups had self‐employment incomes that were lower than the incomes of comparable immigrants working for wages and salaries.…”

“…In this context, self-employment may serve as a protective strategy for those who experience taste-based discrimination by employers or customers in either the hiring process or during employment (Becker [1957(Becker [ ] 1971. This argument has been used to explain immigrants' higher levels of self-employment, that is, that labor market barriers and discrimination push immigrants into self-employment (Beaujot, Maxim, and Thao 1994;Borjas 1990;Li 2000Li , 2001Nakhaie 2015). Gay men are also heavily concentrated in large urban areas (Black et al 2002;Denier and Waite 2014) and have historically resided in gay villages within these urban areas (Compton and Baumle 2012;Ghaziani 2011Ghaziani , 2014Ghaziani , 2015.…”