Determinants of Migrant Entrepreneurship in Europe

In the last decades migrant enterprises have become more embedded in the European urban economy. With the rising number of migrant entrepreneurs, the largest cities in Europe have acquired a more cosmopolitan outlook and have become dynamic multicultural economies. Actually, the 'ethnic economies' are often seen as elements of a solution to structural labour market problems and ethnicity is increasingly regarded as a viable resource for economic advancement on the labour market in Europe. Against this background, the aim of this paper is to investigate the forms of migrant entrepreneurship in diverse urban contexts and to interpret the differences in the social integration in European cities. The paper is based on a review of findings in the literature that addresses the migrant entrepreneurship experiences of different European countries such as Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, UK, France, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Portugal. The focus of the paper will be on a comparative evaluation of the various forms of migrant entrepreneurship in European countries. This comparative evaluation enables us to identify the 'European' models of migrant entrepreneurship and to highlight the determinants of migrant entrepreneurship in Europe.