Doctoral Dissertation Research: Entrepreneurship and Mobility in Immigrant Enclaves

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

SES - 1131006 Gilbert Rozman (PI) Sharon Yoon (co-PI) Princeton University Doctoral Dissertation Research: Entrepreneurship and Mobility in Immigrant Enclaves Abstract Ethnic enclaves can help immigrants use ethnic solidarity to become upwardly mobile. Such upward mobility trends are especially likely if an enclave is socioeconomically diverse, which itself often results from successive immigration waves. However, enclaves can also experience internal conflicts and factionalism, which can hinder working-class co-ethnics from effectively mobilizing resources and becoming upwardly mobile. This project focuses on the Korean enclave in Beijing as a case in point to examine the conditions under which co-ethnic immigrants manage to mobilize resources and pursue upward mobility under adverse conditions, i.e, where the enclave experiences strained solidarity. By strained solidarity, we mean significant levels of distrust manifested at the community level that impair smooth interactions among co-ethnics. The Korean enclave in Beijing is split (both socially and institutionally) between fourth-generation Korean Chinese rural migrants and recent South Korean immigrants. Nonetheless, the enclave has evolved into a flourishing residential and commercial district in which even lower-status Korean Chinese minorities have become increasingly upwardly mobile. The PIs examine the degree to which these mobility trends are related to various forms of cultural capital (linguistic, knowledge-based) and hypothesize that relying on transnational resources plays an important role in this context. Specifically, ties with both the recently arrived South Korean entrepreneurial class and resources available via their country of origin, South Korea. The study employs an original survey, interviews, and ethnographic field work involving Koreans in Beijing to test theoretically grounded hypotheses. Broader Impacts This study helps us understand the changing nature of upward mobility in an increasingly inter-connected world. It may advance our understanding of how historically disadvantaged minority groups can employ bilingual and bicultural abilities and other assets (innovations in communication and travel) to improve their mobility chances in ways that would not have been possible even a few decades ago. Findings from this study may be of interest to urban planners as well as policy makers and economists. In addition, this case study contributes to the sociological literature by examining whether classical notions of group solidarity as a mechanism for upward mobility apply to contemporary transnational enclaves.