The Ecology of Ethnic Economies

Eric Fong, University of Toronto
Jing Shen, University of Toronto

With the increase in immigrant population and the growth of ethnic communities, the study of ethnic economies has received considerable attention in recent decades. As most studies explore the economic and social consequences of participating in ethnic economies, the literature has largely treated the ethnic economies as given. There has been little accounting of factors that contribute to the concentration of members of minority groups in specific industries. To understand the topic, we explore how the ecological structures of the metropolis shape the concentration of minority groups in specific industries. In addition, we explore how earnings in these ethnic concentrated industries are related to the social and demographic characteristics of the ethnic group and the characteristics of the metropolis. Based on the 2001 Canadian Census, we explored Chinese ethnic economies in Canada in three major Canadian metropolitan areas. These three cities consist of over 80% of Chinese population in Canada.