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Economic Development and Disparities

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Economic Development and Disparities Photo courtesy of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Orange County Chapter 3 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DISPARITIES Assets ............................................................................................................................... 36 Contributions to the Workforce .................................................................................. 36 Growth of Businesses and Commercial Centers ......................................................... 37 Next-Generation Entrepreneurs and Innovators......................................................... 39 Transnational Companies and Economic Connections .............................................. 41 Contributions of Economic Organizations ................................................................. 42 Needs ................................................................................................................................ 42 Poverty and Unemployment ........................................................................................ 42 Workplace Discrimination and Exploitation ............................................................... 43 The Competitive Market for Businesses Owners ....................................................... 44 Resistance to Business Owners and Lack of Representation ...................................... 45 Policy Recommendations ................................................................................................. 46 Interviewed Community Leaders ..................................................................................... 47 Notes ................................................................................................................................ 48 35 Transforming Orange County | Chapter 3: Economic Development and Disparities he growing Asian American & Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA&NHPI) population has been important to the economic growth of TOrange County. In addition to bringing a diverse workforce of high- and low-skilled workers, the number of both large and small Asian-owned businesses has increased dramatically, especially with the creation of ethnic commercial centers. While some of these businesses cater to ethnic clients and customers, many have grown to serve the broader Orange County community. The increase in the number of businesses and developments established by overseas Asian entrepreneurs is also noticeable. These businesses bring new jobs, increase tax revenue, and attract new investments into the area, and they have helped to stimulate the local economy during economic downturns or recessions. However, there are still issues of poverty and unemployment among different AA&NHPI groups. Broader economic trends have impacted the livelihood of immigrant small business owners. Additionally, AA&NHPI workers face discrimination and challenges in the workplace, and overseas Asian investors face local resistance to their developments. AA&NHPI small business owners and workers face gaps in political representation to address these ongoing issues. ASSETS Contributions to the Workforce AA&NHPI have made important contributions to the county’s workforce. After World War II, Orange County became an area primarily for the manufacturing industries; however, beginning in the 1990s, the county’s economic base shifted away from manufacturing to the service, information, and tourism industries. The AA&NHPI presence in the local economy also increased during this period, with many workers, including low-wage earners, arriving to work in these developing industries. The boom in AA&NHPI population growth has paralleled the more recent shift toward higher-skilled industries and jobs based in Orange County, with many U.S.-born and foreign-born skilled professionals in technology, finance, and legal fields contributing their talents to the local economy. Currently 63% of adult Asian Americans and 67% of adult Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are in the labor force, close to the county’s overall rate of 66%.1 No longer confined to racially segregated jobs, college-educated Asian Americans Photo courtesy of Asian Americans are now in a range of professional occupations that require Advancing Justice – Orange County skilled workers. In Orange County, over 50% of Asians work in management, business, science, and arts occupations.2 Approximately 37% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders work in service occupations and 29% in management, business, science, and arts.3 36 Transforming Orange County | Chapter 3: Economic Development and Disparities Growth of Businesses and Commercial Centers The growth of the AA&NHPI communities has not only brought contributions to the local workforce but has also reshaped the local economy. California has the largest AA&NHPI consumer base in the United States.4 The local economies have shifted to reflect their growing purchasing power, which can be seen in the growth of AA&NHPI-owned businesses that cater to the different communities. Orange County, in particular, has seen a steady growth. In 2012, there were 78,701 Asian American–owned businesses and 1,225 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander– owned businesses, a growth from 2007 of 24% and 37%, respectively. Combined they continue to be the second-largest group of small business owners in the county. In 2012, these businesses brought in nearly $26 billion in revenue and provided approximately 105,000 jobs to the county.5 These businesses do not just cater to AA&NHPI interests. This entrepreneurship has created more jobs and increased the tax revenue that can be used to improve the county’s infrastructure and provide better public services. Furthermore, many of these businesses are helping to revitalize depressed neighborhoods, with the renovation of dilapidated mini-malls or the development of new commercial spaces. Mary Anne Foo, who is of Chinese and Japanese descent and the founding executive director of the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, summarizes the economic transformations and how they contribute to changing attitudes: It’s just been amazing! So for Asian Americans, what was known in the ’90s and 2000 was Little Saigon, Koreatown—this amazing business center [and] the number of incredible first-generation immigrant-owned businesses. They just transformed cities and you saw communities coming in, so a lot of investments into Orange County. From there, now you see all these companies and restaurants and businesses and corporations coming from Asia to invest in Orange County, really wanting to be here, and then families wanting to stay. When we were first doing advocacy [with the county] and talking to policy makers, they would be like, ‘Oh, you know, you guys are a drain on us! You know, all these refugees drain all these taxpayer dollars.’ And I’m like, ‘No. They actually are bringing in all this economic development, all this money into the business community. You’re getting all the city taxes because of these businesses.’ And now we can say, ‘Hey we’re bringing in billions—more than 20 billion in revenue into your cities, so you now can’t question us.’ The emergence of distinct ethnic neighborhoods shows the economic contributions of Asian Americans. These areas have become major commercial centers, some surrounded by ethnic residential hubs. These one-stop areas cater to the ethnic 37 Transforming Orange County | Chapter 3: Economic Development and Disparities population, flourishing with stores that sell clothes, furniture, cars, and jewelry as well as services such as real estate, banking, insurance, medical, and auto repair. Most visible are concentrations such as the Little Saigon area, which is officially marked with welcome signs in Garden Grove, Santa Ana, and Westminster, and the Korean business districts in Garden Grove and Buena Park. Orange County’s Little Saigon, the largest Vietnamese American concentration in the country, started with a few Vietnamese businesses in Santa Ana and Westminster, which then spread to Garden Grove and Fountain Valley. Tam Nguyen, former president of the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce and the second-generation owner of Advance Beauty College, explains that his father established the family business in Little Saigon because the community could draw from resources through ethnic networks centralized in that area: “He could see Little Saigon being the epicenter pretty early on in the organization or with leaders who had the resources and the vision for something larger.” Like other refugees who were forced to switch careers, Nguyen’s father, who was formerly in the South Vietnamese military, followed his wife into the nail and beauty industry, first as a worker and then as a business owner, to support the family. Due to the discrimination they faced and their lack of English language skills, many refugees, even those without entrepreneurial experience, opened businesses that catered to co-ethnics in Little Saigon. What started out as a handful of small Vietnamese enterprises has blossomed into thousands of businesses, both chain stores and mom-and-pop shops. Frank Jao, who opened the landmark Asian Garden Mall and owns many of the mini-malls and other developments, is credited with Little Saigon’s expansion. With all the entertainment centers and other amenities that Little Saigon offers, it has become a major tourist destination. Korean business hubs have also emerged. The concentration of Korean-owned businesses in Garden Grove developed in the period after the 1992 Los Angeles
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