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Immigration, Minority Businesses, and Spatial Mismatch in HUD Renewal Communities, Empowerment Zones, and Enterprise Communities Author: Richard Smith Dissertation School: University of California, Berkeley Pages: 50 Publication Date: 06/2009 Availability: Access Number: 10881 Abstract: This study will describe immigration dynamics in HUD’s Renewal Community, Empowerment Zone, and Enterprise Community (RC/EZ/EC) programs and identify places where immigrant firms and targeted services contributed to revitalization. Is there a policy treatment effect of the EZECs compared to the rest of the county on entrepreneurship controlling for the jobs housing imbalance and longitudinal immigration trends? This study uses Heckman’s Differences in Differences approach to answer these questions with data from the National Neighborhood Change Database (NCDB), Integrated Public User Microdata (IPUMS) and other census products. Execs experienced a 4-percent increase in the foreign born holding other variables constant. The rate of native-born entrepreneurs in wage credit EZs increased 14 to 24 percent from 1990 to 2000 holding other variables constant (N=134). There is no significant change in the rates of foreign born entrepreneurship in any EZ from 1990 to 2000 after controlling for other variables. However, self-employed foreign born who have an incorporated business have substantially lower participation as a proportion of the labor force in EZ/ECs with the wage credit. The year effect is a 6-percent increase for all entrepreneurs holding other variables constant. In regards to the impact of the EZEC on the jobs housing imbalance, there was a 6 to 17-percent reduction in target areas compared to the rest of the county holding other variables constant (N=162). Analysis of interviews with community development professionals and annual reports illustrate cases where the immigrant and minority labor force is locally incorporated into entrepreneurship or mainstream employment through workforce development systems. Artists, immigrants and native born people returning to their old neighborhood all play a role in community renewal. Future urban policy needs to acknowledge the role of immigration in local economies through culturally competent workforce development, language training and mentoring new entrepreneurs. |
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