Jewish Immigrant Entrepreneurship in New York and London 1880-1914: Enterprise and Culture

Abstract:     
The aim of this research is to use a controlgroup population, the East European Jewish immigrants, present in two differentlocations, the United States and Britain, to test for the economic effects ofassimilating British and American cultural values. Census and marriage recordsand other statistical sources were used to measure the supply ofentrepreneurship in the two populations. Jewish immigrants in New York were much more likely to move intoentrepreneurial occupations than those in London, and it is demonstrated thatthis was not due to any differences in their backgrounds. The structures of thetwo local immigrant economies in New York and London are compared and changesin the underlying demand and real profits paid for entrepreneurship areinvestigated. Because the immigrant culture emphasized a high degree of conformity,immigrants adopted their host cultural values quickly. This evidence of arelatively anti-entrepreneurial culture in Britain is considered in terms ofBritain's 20th century economic performance. (LMH)

Keywords: Jews, Minorities, Startup rates, Career choices, Clothing industry, Cultural assimilation, Cultural values, Entrepreneurial environment, Ethnic & racial groups, Immigrant entrepreneurs, Immigrants, Immigration

Accepted Paper Series