Hispanic self-employment in the Southwest : rising above the threshold of poverty / Virginia Solis Zuiker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zuiker, Virginia, 1960-

Series:

Garland studies in the history of American labor

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Self-employed--Southwest, New.

Self-employed.

Hispanic Americans--Southwest, New--Economic conditions.

Hispanic Americans.

Hispanic American business enterprises--Southwest, New.

Hispanic American business enterprises.

Economic conditions.

New Southwest.

Physical Description:

xvii, 135 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Garland Pub., 1998.

Summary:

Self-employment is a viable economic alternative for minority populations facing barriers to gainful employment in the traditional wage and salary labor market in the U.S. This book examines whether self-employment is an opportunity that will enable the Hispanic householders living in the Southwestern United States to earn a living that will keep their families above the poverty threshold.

Using a multi-disciplinary approach, the author develops a model based on economics (human capital theory), sociology (assimilation), and family science (individual and relationship capital). The findings suggest that human capital, assimilation, and individual and relationship capital variables differ for both the self-employed Hispanic householder with earnings above the poverty threshold and the self-employed Hispanic householder with earnings below the poverty line. Furthermore, the findings suggest that Hispanic householders are choosing self-employment as an employment option and that a little over half of the self-employed Hispanic householders residing in the Southwestern United States are above the poverty threshold.

Contents:

Chapter 2 Review of Literature 13

The Concept of Self-Employment 14

Definition of Self-Employment 14

Two Distinct Types of Self-Employment 14

Empirical Studies' Definitions of Self-Employment 15

Hispanic Population 17

Definition of Hispanic 17

Description of the Hispanic Self-Employed Individual 18

Career Development Theory 20

Behavioral Models of Success 22

Individual and Relationship Capital 26

Theories of Self-Employment 29

Cultural and Disadvantage Theories 29

Ethnic Economy and Ethnic Enclave Economy 30

Assimilation Theory 35

Choice Theory and Constraint Theory 36

Human Capital Theory 38

Theories of Economic Mobility 41

Human Capital Theory 41

Assimilation Theory 44

A Framework to Evaluate Hispanic Self-Employment 45

Chapter 3 Methodology 51

The Data Set 51

Selection of Data Set 51

Description of the Data Set 52

Sample Selection Criteria 53

Characteristics of the Sample 53

The Empirical Model 59

Procedural Overview 59

Empirical Specification of Theoretical Models 60

Dependent Variable 63

Independent Variables 67

Dependent Variable 69

Independent Variables 69

Limitations of the Study 77

Results 79

Earnings Above and Below the Poverty Threshold 79

Demographic Characteristics 80

Human Capital 80

Assimilation 84

Individual and Relationship Capital 84

Self-Employment Decision 86

Demographic Characteristics 87

Human Capital 87

Assimilation 89

Individual and Relationship Capital 89

Self-Employment Earnings Above the Poverty Threshold Model with Sample Selection 89

Demographic Characteristics 92

Human Capital 92

Assimilation 93

Individual and Relationship Capital 93

Self-Employment Earnings Above the Poverty Threshold Model 93

Demographic Characteristics 94

Human Capital 94

Assimilation 97

Individual and Relationship Capital 97

Hispanic Self-Employed Householder: Earnings Above and Below the Poverty Threshold 98

Demographic Characteristics 98

Human Capital 99

Assimilation 100

Individual and Relationship Capital 100

Model Without Considering Selection into Self-Employment 101

Demographic Characteristics 102

Human Capital 102

Assimilation 103

Individual and Relationship Capital 104

Implications and Future Directions 105.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 125-131) and index.

ISBN:

0815331983

OCLC:

40043682