Immigration, entrepreneurship and the family: Indo-Canadian enterprise in the construction industry of greater Vancouver

Ethnic enterprise The subject of “ethnic enterprise ” — businesses operated and main-tained primarily by members of immigrant and/or minority groups — has become a significant area of research since the 1960s, when it became apparent to researchers and policy makers that the level of self-employment among ethnic minorities was higher than average (Borjas 1986). More recently, this interest has been aligned with a growing body of literature documenting the importance of self-em-ployment and small businesses generally,1 some of which focuses specifically on the role of ethnic entrepreneurs in industrially ad-vanced economies (Waldinger et al 1990; Ward 1991). This research reflects a growing concern with the intersection of increased immi-120 WALTON-ROBERTS AND HIEBERT gration in western countries, industrial re tructuring, and the resur-gence of the small business sector in response to this restructuring