From The Peopling of New York City
Economy
Chinatown's enclave economy, or an economy that evolves around businesses that are run by the members of the community, has transformed the neighborhood from an isolated immigrant community into one that goes beyond its original boundaries. As immigrants continue to pour in, human and economic resources come in. Businesses are no longer restricted to Old Chinatown.
Today, most of the recent immigrants are more likely to participate in the ethnic labor market than in the larger labor market, whereas American-born Chinese are more likely to participate in the larger economy. Many of the immigrant Chinese who stay in the networks of Chinatown do better economically than those who take entry-level jobs in the open labor market.
A large portion of Chinatown works in an underground economy, where people typically receive less than mandated minimum wage, and transactions are done in cash so that people can avoid paying taxes. This is responsible for employment of a lot of new immigrants who lack the language skills to find other work. Major industries are sweatshops (mostly garment), tourism, and restaurants.[1]
Income
Chinese American income and social status varies very much. Though many Chinese in New York are often in the impoverished working class, others are well-educated upper-class people living in affluent areas. The upper-class and lower-class Chinese are also separated by social status and class discrimination.
In 1979 in New York City, U.S born Chinese were making approximately 60% of the income of U.S. born whites, and foreign-born Chinese were making approximately 50% of the income of foreign-born whites. Furthermore, of those who completed elementary school, Chinese immigrants were making approximately 50% as much as white people. For those who had completed high school, Chinese were making approximately 53-62% as much income as whites. For college the percentage was from 68-74%.
It is shown that people who work in the enclave are more likely to become self-employed. Among immigrants in Chinatown, there are two important goals:, to own a house and to own a business. This economic system has started to develop into a structure of opportunities for Chinese investors, entrepreneurs, and immigrants to make their way up the socioeconomic ladder. In fact, it helps them adjust to their new country socioeconomically and opens up opportunities for social mobility.
References
- ↑ Zhou, Min. Chinatown. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1992.