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Immigrant versus Native Businesswomen: Proclivity and Performance

Author

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  • Constant, Amelie F.

    (Temple University)

Abstract

Career positions in German economic life are still male-dominated, and the driving forces behind success are not yet well understood. This paper contributes to a better understanding by classifying success stories in self-employment and business careers, and by investigating differences between native women (both from West and East Germany) and migrants using a rich data set from the German Socio-economic Panel. Results on self-employment proclivity are very sensitive to the alternative choice. Women choose self-employment over a business career in the salaried sector when they are older, less educated, have under-age children, and parents who are self-employed themselves. When women are younger and more educated but have children, they choose self-employment as a way to circumvent unemployment. Women who are more educated and do not have under-age children are more likely to be businesswomen in the salaried sector, suggesting a clear choice for a secure job. East German women are less likely to choose self-employment or a business career than West German women. Overall, compared to other types of employment, selfemployment offers women the desirable and valuable element of time and space flexibility. Businesswomen in paid-employment earn the highest wages and this is long-lasting. Compared to women in lower dependent employment, those in self-employment earn more. Thus, self-employment offers women a path to economic success. Invariably, East German women earn less than West German women.

Suggested Citation

  • Constant, Amelie F., 2004. "Immigrant versus Native Businesswomen: Proclivity and Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 1234, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1234
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anh T. Le, 1999. "Empirical Studies of Self‐Employment," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 381-416, September.
    2. Amelie Constant & Yochanan Shachmurove & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2003. "What Makes an Entrepreneur and Does It Pay?: Native Men, Turks, and Other Migrants in Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 386, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Taylor, Mark P, 2001. "Self-Employment and Windfall Gains in Britain: Evidence from Panel Data," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 68(272), pages 539-565, November.
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    14. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew & Stutzer, Alois, 2001. "Latent entrepreneurship across nations," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 680-691, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nonna Kushnirovich & Sibylle Heilbrunn, 2008. "Financial Funding Of Immigrant Businesses," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(02), pages 167-184.
    2. A. Arrighetti & G. Foresti & S. Fumagalli & A. Lasagni, 2018. "Are Migrant Firms Actually Different From Native Firms?," Economics Department Working Papers 2018-EP05, Department of Economics, Parma University (Italy).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    entrepreneurship; immigrants; self-employment; occupational choice; economics of minorities; economics of gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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