Asian Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Non-Entrepreneurs: A Comparative Study of Recent Korean and Filipino Immigrants

Many immigrants go into business for themselves, rather than enter the salaried labor market. Immigrant business owners in the United States are admired for their enterprising spirit, but they may also be the target of envy and hostility, as was evident in the attacks on Korean businesses during riots in Los Angeles in 1992. Recent research shows that Koreans are more likely than members of many other U.S. immigrant groups to go into business. While a number of theoretical frameworks have been developed that explain group differences in entrepreneurship, very few studies have dealt empirically with the actual process of choosing between salaried employment and self-employment. Why do some immigrants go into business while others do not? This paper examines that question from a comparative perspective, drawing upon survey data on recent Korean and Filipino immigrants to the United States. Implications of the findings with respect to U.S. immigration policies are also discussed.