A level playing field for migrant entrepreneurs? The legal and policy landscape across EU and OECD countries
| Published date | 01 April 2023 |
| Author | Giacomo Solano |
| Date | 01 April 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12939 |
International Migration. 2023;61:27–47.
|
27
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
Received: 12 Feb ruary 2021
|
Revised: 19 August 20 21
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Accepted: 11 Octobe r 2021
DOI: 10.1111/imig.12939
SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE
A level playing field for migrant entrepreneurs?
The legal and policy landscape across EU and
OECD countries
Giacomo Solano
© 2021 The Author s. Internationa l Migration © 2021 Inter national Organiz ation for Migratio n.
Migration Pol icy Group (MPG), Br ussels,
Belgium
Correspondence
Giacomo Sola no, Migration Polic y Group
(MPG), Rue Bell iard 205 1040 Bruss els,
Belgium.
Email: gsolano@migpolgroup.com
Abstract
Migrant entrepreneur ship has been recognized as a form of
integration in the country of destination and a viable alter-
native of decent and sustainable employment for migrants.
Laws and policies can create barrier s or suppor t migrants
who start a busi ness in the country of destination. D espite
their importance, thes e laws and policies have received
scant attention from academic scho larship. By applying the
mixed emb edded approach, this article analyses the insti-
tutional and polic y framework for migrant entrepr eneurs
in European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Devel opment (OECD) countries, and how
this framework var ies according to the migrants’ individ ual
legal status and gende r. In order to do so, this article draws
upon the finding s of two differe nt studies conducted on
the topic . The fir st one anal yses the nat ional institutional
framework for migra nt entrepreneur s of these countries .
The second study consists of a review of measures to foster
migrant entrepren eurship in the same sample of countr ies.
On th e one ha nd, this article shows that the institutional
framework restricts access to sel f- employment for som e
categories of migrants (e.g. based on their legal st atus). On
the other hand, a wide range of measures are now available
to supp ort migrant entrepreneurs. However, these meas-
ures treat them as a rathe r homoge neous g roup. Th ese
findings suggest that th e fact that some migrants are less
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SOLA NO
INTRODUCTION
This article add resses the topic of the institution al and policy framework for migra nt entrepreneurs. Altho ugh the
topic of migrant entrepreneurship has be en analysed extensively, the institu tional and policy co ntext in which
migrant entrepreneurs operate has received scant attention (Rath & Schutjens, 2016; R ath & Swagerman, 2016).
Migrant entrepre neurship has been recognized as a form of integrat ion in the country of destination (Por tes et al.,
2002; Rath & Schutjens, 2016). M igrant integ ration refer s to the proce ss of settlement, interactions with the
receiving society and social change due to immig ration (Garcés- Mascareñas & Pen ninx, 2016; Entzinger, 2000).
Once arr ived, migrants seek to se cure their li velihood in th e destination country by finding a jo b, accessing th e
healthcare system, registering with the municipality and so on. Integration is , therefore, a multidimensional pro-
cess that encompasses a variety of areas, including employment. Migrant entrepreneurship represents a viable
alternative of decent and sustainab le employment for migrants as well as of social integration in the soci ety of
destination (European Commission, 2016; Rat h & Schutjens, 2 016; Port es et al., 2002). It can also be a powerful
way towa rds self- realization and improvement of migrants’ social status ( Allen & Busse, 2 016; Rath, Sola no &
Schutjens, 2020; Solano, 2015).
Figures have shown that about 12 per cent of all foreign- born migrants in OECD countries are self- employed
(OECD & EU, 2018). According to Eu rostat figures, the sa me happens for the EU28 countri es, in which around 12
per cent of foreign population is self- employed, which decreases to 7 p er cent if only considering migrant s from
non- EU countries (Taddei & S olano, 2020).1.
However, the potential contr ibution of migrant entrepr eneurship to migrants’ live s and the economy of the
country of destinatio n is often hindered by several cha llenges and barriers, su ch as discri mination and unequal
opportunities, as well as laws, regulations, difficulties in accessing credit and dealing with burea ucracy, as well
as a la ck of familiar ity with th e (business) envi ronment and t he market of the country of destination (UNCTAD,
2018). Figures show that mig rant- led businesses perform worse tha n native enterprises on a number of indicato rs
(Taddei & Solano, 2020), pointing to disadvant ages and untapped potential. Foreign - born migrants are much more
likely to be microbusiness owners, concentrated in low- profitable sectors (e.g. petty trade) and, compared to na-
tive businesses , are less likely to survive for five ye ars or more (Edwards et al., 2016; R am et al., 2017). Therefo re,
in general, migr ant entrepreneurs c an be considered as a vulner able group of entrepreneu rs.
These high er rates of fa ilure have been attributed to migrant entrepren eurs’ lack of r esources as well as un-
supportive i nstitutional and polic y frameworks (Rath & Schut jens, 2016). Laws, policie s and measures can change
the oppor tunity struc ture and, in doing so, the business success of migrant e ntrepreneurs (Elo, Täube & Servais ,
2021). Effective and favourable p olicies can also represent a pull fac tor for migrants to engage in business ac tivi-
ties (Sinkovics & Re uber, 2021).
The institutional framework is parti cularly rel evant, as it set s the conditions to access the ma rket and the
different bus iness sectors. As show n in earlier papers (see, for e xample, Kloosterma n & Rath, 2001), limiting con-
ditions (e.g . requirements to access cer tain sectors) can prevent mi grants from e ntering those sectors and push
them towards othe r sectors or informalit y. Furthermore, the polic y framework, namely sup porting measures, c an
make it easier for migrants to set up their own business acti vities and to overcome e xisting barri ers (European
Commission, 2016; Rath, Swage rman, 2016; UNCTAD, 2018).
engaged in self- employment or face more difficult ies may
be explaine d by the lack of institutional oppor tunities and
policy suppor t.
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