Title: Immigrant entrepreneurship in the Milan metropolitan area: results from an empirical analysis

Authors: Ivan De Noni; Andrea Ganzaroli; Luigi Orsi; Luciano Pilotti

Addresses: Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan, Via Conservatorio 7, 20122, Milan, Italy ' Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan, Via Conservatorio 7, 20122, Milan, Italy ' Department of Economics and Management, University of Padua, Via Del Santo 33, 35123, Padua, Italy ' Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan, Via Conservatorio 7, 20122, Milan, Italy

Abstract: Immigrant entrepreneurship is increasingly regarded as a potential source of sustainable development. But even while this potential is gaining popularity, the available data are still not sufficient to establishing ad-hoc policies that would support the development of this form of entrepreneurship. This drawback of the current data is mainly due to its descriptive nature and macro character, which do not allow policymakers to address key factors in the start-up of new ventures, such as motivations for becoming an entrepreneur, barriers and enabling factors, and social and economic impacts at both the urban and regional level. The objective of this paper is to advance this area of research by investigating these issues in the context of 118 entrepreneurs currently working in the metropolitan area of Milan. Our results contradict some of the key assumptions generally accepted in literature.

Keywords: immigrant entrepreneurship; ethnic entrepreneurship; foreign entrepreneurs; ethnic diversity; immigrants; Milan; metropolitan areas; Italy; sustainable development; sustainability; start-ups; new ventures; motivation; barriers; enabling factors; social impact; economic impact.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEPEE.2013.055796

International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, 2013 Vol.6 No.2, pp.168 - 188

Published online: 28 Jun 2014 *

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