Is Co-Ethnic Representation in Larger Industrial Environment Related to Co-Ethnic Earnings?

• In Event: 4255 - Section on Economic Sociology Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 11. Race and Ethnicity

Abstract

The earnings of individuals participating in an ethnic economy have been a major concern among researchers. Our study expands the understanding of the relationship between ethnic embeddedness and co-ethnic earnings by exploring ethnic over-representation among related industrial sectors in the larger industrial environment. Drawing from 2011 Canadian Household Survey, our findings show that an industrial sector situated in an industrial environment with greater over-representation of Chinese in related industries is negatively related to the earnings of Chinese employers working there, but positively related to the earnings of Chinese employees. The findings suggest that employees benefit from a higher level of co-ethnic embeddedness in the larger industrial environment, while the earnings of employers are hurt by the same situation.

Authors

• Eric Fong, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Binbin Shu, Chinese University of Hong Kong