Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/141633 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9874
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Both migrant entrepreneurship and social capital are topics which have attracted a great deal of attention. However, relatively little econometric analysis has been done on their interrelationship. In this paper we first consider the relationship between social capital and the prevalence of entrepreneurship. We also investigate the relationship between social capital and the living standards of entrepreneurs. In both cases we ask whether these interrelationships differ between migrants and comparable native‐born people. We utilize unit record data from the pooled 2008, 2010 and 2012 New Zealand General Social Surveys (NZGSS). The combined sample consists of 15,541 individuals who are in the labour force. Entrepreneurs are defined as those in the sample who obtained income from self‐employment or from owning a business. Social capital is proxied by responses to questions on social networks, volunteering and sense of community. The economic standard of living is measured by either personal income or by an Economic Living Standards Index (ELSI) score developed by the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development. We find significant differences between migrants and the native born in terms of the attributes of social capital that are correlated with entrepreneurship, but volunteering matters equally for both groups. The positive association between social capital attributes and ELSI scores is similar between migrant and natives. Social capital contributes little to explaining incomes of either group.
Subjects: 
migration
social capital
entrepreneurship
income
standard of living
JEL: 
F22
J15
L26
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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