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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Indo-Canadian residential construction entrepreneurs in Vancouver : an examination of the interface between culture and economy Walton-Roberts, Margaret
Abstract
The prevalence of ethnically bounded economic enterprises and economies in western industrial nations has encouraged scholars and planners alike to examine the particular factors that encourage minorities and immigrants to enter self-employment. Typically the resulting claims fall into two camps: the first stresses the positive attributes, both economic and socio-cultural, that immigrants bring with them that facilitate and encourage self reliant forms of economic organization, while the second emphasizes negative structural influences that coerce immigrants and minorities into engaging with exploitative capitalist methods of organization. The debate becomes highly polarized due to these opposing interpretations, and other methods and levels of analysis, such as social construction theory and issues of racialization and discrimination, are neglected. In the case of Indo-Canadian construction related entrepreneurs, I attempt to overcome the dualistic tendencies of this debate by investigating the often subtle intersection of cultural and economic factors involved in minority enterprise through an ethnographic inquiry. This approach reveals how seemingly economic mechanisms such as; labour relations, client contact and contracting processes, are in fact culturally informed. My results suggests that co-ethnic labour, more so than co-ethnic clients, play an essential role in the operation of these enterprises, whether entrepreneurs are immigrants or native born. These connections are imbued with cultural as well as economic significance and exhibit the importance, and potential problems, of kin and co-ethnic support in economic organization. Whilst my results indicate processes of change are ongoing within immigrant/ethnic economic groupings, they also point to the resilience of ethnic connection through enterprise.
Item Metadata
Title |
Indo-Canadian residential construction entrepreneurs in Vancouver : an examination of the interface between culture and economy
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1996
|
Description |
The prevalence of ethnically bounded economic enterprises and economies in
western industrial nations has encouraged scholars and planners alike to examine the
particular factors that encourage minorities and immigrants to enter self-employment.
Typically the resulting claims fall into two camps: the first stresses the positive attributes,
both economic and socio-cultural, that immigrants bring with them that facilitate and
encourage self reliant forms of economic organization, while the second emphasizes
negative structural influences that coerce immigrants and minorities into engaging with
exploitative capitalist methods of organization. The debate becomes highly polarized due to
these opposing interpretations, and other methods and levels of analysis, such as social
construction theory and issues of racialization and discrimination, are neglected.
In the case of Indo-Canadian construction related entrepreneurs, I attempt to overcome the
dualistic tendencies of this debate by investigating the often subtle intersection of cultural
and economic factors involved in minority enterprise through an ethnographic inquiry. This
approach reveals how seemingly economic mechanisms such as; labour relations, client
contact and contracting processes, are in fact culturally informed. My results suggests that
co-ethnic labour, more so than co-ethnic clients, play an essential role in the operation of
these enterprises, whether entrepreneurs are immigrants or native born. These connections
are imbued with cultural as well as economic significance and exhibit the importance, and
potential problems, of kin and co-ethnic support in economic organization. Whilst my
results indicate processes of change are ongoing within immigrant/ethnic economic
groupings, they also point to the resilience of ethnic connection through enterprise.
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Extent |
11472222 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-02-17
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0087178
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1996-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.