Migration, Development and Social Capital - Coursework Example

Migration, Development and Social Capital The reading describes the economic behavior of groups that can be regarded as non-mainstream by evaluating the reasons behind the success of their enterprises. From the reading, one can understand why some minorities, who seem to languish in poverty, have risen in the economic ladder to the extent that they have come up with large firms that own vast resources. In addition, the reader can understand why there is uniqueness in the success of these minorities (Portes 2010, p.163). After reading the material, one can comprehend the issue of enclaves and what it implies in a cultural context.

It is clear from the reading that enclaves are a combination of business enterprises whose ownership belongs to people who share the same cultural values and backgrounds. Members of an enclave can be easily understood by the geographic area that they occupy and similarities in the economic activities that earn them a living (Portes 2010, p.164). The author has explored the characteristics that define an ethnic enclave. Most ethnic enclaves are occupied by members of a particular ethnic group who speak the same language and share certain customs.

In the United States, for example, ethnic enclaves comprise of immigrants from the same cultural backgrounds who have become entrepreneurs in a certain area. Such minorities may have challenges in accessing capital required to start a business enterprise. They also lack proper connections with policy makers (Portes 2010, p.166). In order to overcome these challenges, minority entrepreneurs utilize the available resources and set an enterprise. Some of the ethnic enclaves comprise of minorities of the Jewish, Korean, Japanese, and Cuban origin.

What lessons can firms in the mainstream economy learn from the success of the enterprises owned by minorities?References ListPortes, A. (2010). Ethnic Enclaves and Middlemen Minorities; in Economic Sociology: A Systematic Inquiry. Princeton, Princeton University Press.