Università della Svizzera italiana

Ethnic concentration, cultural identity and immigrant self-employment in Switzerland

Guerra, Giuliano ; Patuelli, Roberto ; Maggi, Rico

Immigrant self-employment rates vary considerably across regions in Switzerland. Business ownership seems to provide an alternative to wage labour, where immigrants have to face structural barriers such as the limited knowledge of the local language, or difficulties in fruitfully making use of their own human capital. Despite the historically high unemployment rates with respect to natives,...

Università della Svizzera italiana

The influence of role models on immigrant self-employment : a spatial analysis for Switzerland

Guerra, Giuliano ; economiche, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera ; Patuelli, Roberto ; economiche, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera

Theoretical and empirical research suggests a connection between the presence of role models and the emergence of entrepreneurs. Existing entrepreneurs may act as role models for self-employment candidates by providing successful examples. By explicitly considering the self- employment rates of the natives, which may influence locally the decisions of immigrants towards entrepreneurship, we...