African American and Hispanic Self-Employment in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area.

Qingfanf Wang

Using the Public Usable Microdata Samples (PUMS) in year 2000, this study examines the self-employment of U.S.-born blacks and foreign-born Hispanics in the Charlotte metropolitan area that has been transformed dramatically by immigration in recent decades. The industrial concentrationpatterns of the two groups indicate a possible succession between them depending on to what extent the local labor market is transformed by immigration. The ethnic diversity, history of immigration, and the economic structure in the local area have provided different opportunities and challenges for ethnic minorities and immigrants to start up and maintain their own businesses. This study suggests that the process of economic incorporation of ethnic minorities depends significantly on the institutional capacity and social, cultural, and political resources of local communities.

CHARLOTTE (N.C.); NORTH Carolina; SELF-employment; EMPLOYMENT of African Americans; EMPLOYMENT of Hispanic Americans; INDUSTRIAL concentration; LABOR market; CULTURAL pluralism; HISTORY of emigration & immigration

Southeastern Geographer, 2011, Vol 51, Issue 1, p89

0038-366X

Academic Journal

10.1353/sgo.2011.0007