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The spirit of capitalism? Immigration, religion, and self-employment in early 20th century Canada

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  • Chris Minns,
  • Mariyan Rizov

Abstract

This paper examines self-employment in Canada at the beginning of the twentieth century. As in the late 20th century, self-employment one hundred years ago was associated with greater human capital, and negatively related to wages in the local district. We also find strong evidence of immigrant assimilation in selfemployment, and modest evidence of higher self-employment in enclaves with greater concentration of immigrants. An analysis of recent immigrants supports the hypothesis that liquidity constraints are a strong determinant of self-employment. While religion and individual human capital are highly correlated, we find that the direct effects of membership in different Christian denominations were small.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris Minns, & Mariyan Rizov, 2003. "The spirit of capitalism? Immigration, religion, and self-employment in early 20th century Canada," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp08, IIIS.
    • Handle: RePEc:iis:dispap:iiisdp08
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Minns, Chris & Rizov, Marian, 2005. "The spirit of capitalism? Ethnicity, religion, and self-employment in early 20th century Canada," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 259-281, April.

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