INTEGRATION
OF IMMIGRANTS
PROGRAMME
2007 – 2012
Immigrant Business and Labour Market
Outcomes: Relational Embeddedness in
Superdiverse Auckland
Paul Spoonley
Integration of Immigrants Programme, Massey University
“Economic Impacts of Immigration and Population Diversity”
University of Waikato
11-13 April 2012
Integration of Immigrants Programme 2007-2012
Objective 2 (Paul Spoonley)
• What are the experiences of immigrant families and households in relation
to labour market participation and business activity?
• What strategies do they adopt in relation to paid/unpaid work,
entrepreneurship, saving behaviour, investment?
• How significant/important are ethnic sub-economies/networks/precincts
or transnational linkages?
• What is the nature/size of ethnic economic networks/enclaves and what
are the spill-over effects?
(Team: P. Spoonley, R. Bedford, E. Ho, R. Peace, T. Cain)
• 2001-2006 Census
• Surveys
• LisNZ data
• Case studies
NZ Exceptionalism?
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1840-1960s Immigrant homogeneity
1960s
Pasifika migration
1990s
Immigrant diversity
Auckland superdiversity (40% overseas born)
Biculturalism
A Neo-Liberal Context: Paradoxes
Liberalising immigration – 1986/87
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Internationalising the NZ economy
Privatisation/individual responsibility
Limited post-arrival support
Entrepreneurship/small business development focus
1990s: Poor Labour Market Outcomes
Poor alignment between immigrant selection
and labour market participation
Professional registration
Spikiness in flows
• External factors (Hong Kong, Asian
economic downturn)
• Political/moral panic (1993-1996)
Neo-Liberal Influences on Immigration Policy
• State-recruitment of skilled labour
• Focus on responsible/entrepreneurial selves
• Local government reluctance to recognise
racial barriers/ethnic dynamics
Exception?
Recognition of group rights/indigeneity
of Maori/contest neo-liberalism
Mixed Embeddedness/Relational
Embeddedness
Mixed Embeddedness (Kloosterman & Rath)
• Embeddedness in ethnic/immigrant networks
• Regulatory and opportunity structures
Relational Embeddedness (Portes)
• Familiar networks/cultural familiarity
• Reduces transaction costs
• Privileged access
• Neo-liberal public management
Chinese Immigrants in Auckland
• Temporary (students) migrants → permanent
• Barriers
– Lack of local experience
– English language competence
– Employer attitudes
• Relational embeddedness
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–
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Mandarin usage (to communicate with employees)
Reliance on co-ethnic suppliers
Predominance of co-ethnic labour (+ self-exploitation)
Small world networks
Korean Immigrants in Auckland
Barriers
– Exactly the same as Chinese job seekers
– Non-responsiveness of local business
organisations
– Significant post-arrival
occupational downward
mobility
Indian Immigrants in Auckland
• English language competence
• Labour market barriers
• Downward occupational
mobility
• Evidence of relational embeddedness
• High (employee) satisfaction with current jobs
South African Immigrants in Auckland
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Pre-migration self-employment
Pre-migration job offers
Limited downward occupational mobility
Local experience still an issue
Less reliance on co-ethnic (economic vs social
relational embeddedness
British Immigrants in Auckland
• Relative financial prosperity
• Family migration (much higher levels of complete
families migrating)
• Strong focus on relaxed lifestyle and environment
• Little displacement/downward mobility/upward
mobility
• Broad networks
Relational Embeddedness in Action:
Dominion Road Ethnic Precinct
Balmoral Road (92 shops)
51% Chinese owners/operators
16% Indian owners/operators
14% Pakeha
Food
73% Chinese (90% Asian)
2% Pakeha
28 Chinese
shops in a
row
Ethnic Precincts
• Access point to employment and
business establishment
• Co-ethnic networks in operation (capital,
suppliers, employees, customers)
Meeting, shopping
and eating….
Market Sovereignty and
Entrepreneurial Selves
• Spectrum of outcomes: British ↔ Chinese/Korean
• Small world networks/strength of relational
embeddedness
• Immigrant limitations (local experience, limited
networks)
plus
labour market barriers/employer attitudes
INTEGRATION
OF IMMIGRANTS
PROGRAMME
2007 – 2012