The Self-Employment Experience of Immigrants

Self-employment is an important aspect of the immigrant experience in the labor market. Self-employment rates for immigrants exceed 15 percent for some national groups. Using the 1970 and 1980 U.S. Censuses, the analysis shows that self-employment rates of immigrants exceed those of native-born men; that there is a strong, positive impact of assimilation on self-employment rates; that more recent waves of immigrants are opting with increasing frequency for the self-employment option; and that part of the immigrant/native-born differential in self-employment rates can be attributed to "enclave" effects.