ETHNICITY VERSUS STRUCTURAL FACTORS IN NORTH AMERICAN HISTORY. THE CASE STUDY OF THE ITALIAN ECONOMIC NICHES

• Authors: Stefano Agnoletto
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The whole 20th century was characterized by the phenomenon of mass migrations from Europe to North America, but the literature on this issue has proposed different and conflicting explanations on their causes and features. In any case, whatever interpretative approach we want to support, some consequences of this phenomenon are clear. In particular, it is evident how the immigrants have strongly affected the urban economic environment by acting as either business actors or labor force at the local markets. In particular, the presence of communities of immigrants or minority groups has often originated the birth of economic ethnic niches and specializations. Historians usually describe ethnic job and business peculiarities by referring to different cause-and-effect analyses. The core of the debate is the different evaluations of the importance given either to the ethnic/cultural factors that feature the different immigrant groups or to the structural factors that define the host society and/or the global market. Consistent with the foregoing discussion, this article aims to compare the theoretical frameworks on ethnic economic niching discussed in the literature. Moreover, in order to test the theoretical achievements, it focuses on the paradigmatic case study of the Italian economic niches in North America.

Keywords

EN

ETHNIC NICHES; ETHNIC SPECIALIZATION; ETHNIC BUSINESS; MIGRATION HISTORY; ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Studia Migracyjne - Przegląd Polonijny
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 1 (151)
• Pages: 161-181

Contributors

author

Stefano Agnoletto

• Kingston University, London