The United States likes to foster a self-image as “a nation of immigrants” and “the land of opportunity.” The importance of immigration in the nation’s economic development—both as a source of low-cost labor and highly-skilled human capital—has long been acknowledged. Similarly, the American economic system’s openness to entrepreneurial activity is generally recognized as one of its defining characteristics and a central factor in its continued vitality. How did those who came as, or became entrepreneurs in the United States, integrate themselves and their businesses into the American marketplace? Did their journey give them a certain entrepreneurial advantage? What role have ethnic diasporas and networks played in the transfer of skills and knowledge?
The workshop seeks to examine these key questions and to link research on immigrants from diverse backgrounds to the results of the German Historical Institute’s multi-year project, Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present (www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org). The workshop is conducted on the occasion of the completion of the project and seeks to contextualize its main findings.
Bringing together scholars from a variety of fields, the workshop aims to explore patterns and transformations in the interplay between immigration and economic innovation; to investigate how ethnicity, gender, space and time intersect in the economic sphere; and to look at similarities and differences in experiences within and between various immigrant groups. We hope to stimulate discussion on these important topics and provide a forum for comparison by looking at African, Asian, European, and Latino diasporas in the United States.
