UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BARCELONA Instituto Universitari d Estudis Europeus Departament de Dret Public I Ciencies Historicojurídiques Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Spain: A Perspective of Culture and Identity DOCTORADO EN RELACIONES INTERNACIONALES E INTEGRACIÓN EUROPEA Tesis presentada para obtener el Grado de Doctor por: DANIEL ARTURO ROMERO LEÓN DIRIGIDA POR: Dr. JORDI BACARIA COLOM 2013 0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the support of many people, family and friends. First of all, I would like to express my deepest sense of gratitude to Dr. Jordi Bacaria for their endless patience, good guidance, and permanent encouragement and excellent advice throughout this thesis. I would also like to thank all of my colleagues for their expert comments and suggestions. I owe my deepest gratitude to the different institutions that gave me the opportunity to pursue my studies and savor invaluable experiences. Special thanks to the Universidad Veracruzana and their staff, and PROMEP for their financial support, and Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona for accepting me into the program. My family has been key and instrumental in this process, selflessly lavishing their moral and financial support, patience and good disposition on me when I needed them most. Special thanks to Gisela, who has took care of Dani and Laia, throughout this process. To my parents, Lucia and Daniel, for participating in my dream and contributing with their assistance, advice and support, this is for you. And to Katia and Samantha for their endless good disposition and support. 1 AGRADECIMIENTOS La elaboración de esta tesis no hubiera sido posible sin el apoyo de muchas personas. En primer lugar mi profunda e infinita gratitud al Dr. Jordi Bacaria por su paciencia, confianza, orientación, ánimo y consejos durante la elaboración de esta tesis. Asimismo, quisiera agradecer a todos mis colegas por sus comentarios y sugerencias. Mi más profunda gratitud hacia las diferentes instituciones que me brindaron la oportunidad de continuar con mis estudios. A la Universidad Veracruzana, en especial un agradecimiento al staff de la Dirección General de Desarrollo Académico e Innovación Educativa por la confianza depositada en mí, y PROMEP por su apoyo financiero, a la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona por aceptarme en su programa. Mi familia ha sido sumamente importante e instrumental en este proceso, sin su apoyo moral, paciencia y buena disposición en los momentos de más necesidad, esto habría sido imposible. Un agradecimiento muy especial para Gisela, quién siempre a mi lado, se hizo cargo de Dani y Laia, cuando más lo necesite. A mis padres Lucia y Daniel por participar en mi sueño y contribuir con su guía, ayuda, consejo y apoyo moral, físico y económico con este proyecto. Esto es para ellos. A Katia y Samantha por su apoyo incondicional y permanente. 2 SUMMARY The elaboration of this thesis involved several stages, and since it is a complex subject matter, it was imperative to maintain a multidisciplinary focus. In the first stage, the identification of the appropriate methodology for this research is established. Here, it was determined that a framework comprising Rational Choice Theory is the most suitable framework for this research. The Rational Choice approach provides a unique perspective on the manner in which immigrants make decisions under a specific economic context. In the second stage, the revision of the context, trends and characteristics of the new and recent immigration flows arriving to Europe give us an outlook to this phenomenon observed during the last two decades. In the third stage, the data of Latin American immigration in Spain give us a wide perspective of the scenario for the host country and the newcomers. In the forth the relevant body of extant literature of Migration, Culture and Identity reviewed, help to understand how rational migrants make decisions about themselves and their communities in the host countries. In the fifth stage, the discussion of how rational migrants express their identity and cultures throughout the market is characterized. In the final stage, the current economic scenario in Europe shows us how rational migrants had to adapt to new conditions, creating new alternatives. 3 INDEX INTRODUCTION 8 RESEARCH QUERY, HYPOTHESIS AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION 11 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 12 THESIS STRUCTURE 13 CHAPTER 1: RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY AND THE DECISION TO MIGRATE 15 1.1. RATIONAL CHOICE AND DECISION MAKING 17 1.2. ADDITIONAL ASSUMPTIONS UNDER RATIONAL CHOICES 23 1.3. RATIONAL CHOICE AS A RESEARCH ECONOMIC-MIGRATION METHOD 25 1.3.1 THE ROLE OF THE PREFERENCES UNDER RATIONAL CHOICE 27 1.4. RATIONAL CHOICE AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 28 1.4.1 DEFINITION OF RATIONALITY AND THE OBJECTIVE OF RATIONAL CHOICE APPROACH 29 1.5. CRITIQUES OF RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY AND ITS CRITICISM 31 1. 6. POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF RATIONAL CHOICE 34 1.7 CONSIDERATIONS 37 4 CHAPTER 2: INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION TRENDS IN EUROPE AND SPAIN: IMMIGRATION FROM LATIN AMERICA 39 2.1 EMIGRATION AND THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THE LATIN AMERICA, FROM 1990 TO 2010 41 2.2 ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS AND INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION IN LATIN AMERICA FROM 1990 TO 2008 49 2.3 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND FINANCIAL REMITTANCES IN LATIN AMERICA 52 2.4 NEW IMMIGRATION TRENDS IN EUROPE, FROM 1990 TO 2008 57 2.4.1 THE DECISION TO MIGRATE AND THE IMMIGRATION FLOWS INTO EUROPE 60 2.5. SPAIN AS NEW DESTINATION FOR LATIN AMERICA MIGRANTS, FROM 1990 TO 2008 64 2.5.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STANDARD OF LIVING DIFFERENTIALS AS DECISION FACTORS FOR LATIN AMERICAN MIGRANTS 67 2.5.2 COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WAGE DIFFERENTIALS AS DECISION FACTORS FOR LATIN AMERICAN MIGRANTS 71 2.6. CONSIDERATIONS 76 CHAPTER 3: MIGRATION TRENDS: FROM LATIN AMERICA TO SPAIN 77 3.1 IMMIGRANT POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS IN SPAIN 81 3.1.1 DECISION TO MIGRATE TO SPAIN 84 3.1.2 STRATEGIES TO MIGRATE TO SPAIN: TRANSPORTATION AND NETWORKS 86 5 3.1.3. LANGUAGE ABILITIES AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS 88 3.1.4 EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL PROFILE 89 3.1.5 IMMIGRANT HOUSEHOLD AND MARITAL STATUS 91 3.1.6 IMMIGRANT LABOR IN SPAIN 92 3.2 RECENT LATIN AMERICAN IMMIGRATION TO SPAIN 96 3.2.1 THE RECENT LATIN AMERICAN FLOWS INTO SPAIN 98 3.2.2. THE LEGAL STATUS OF IMMIGRANTS IN SPAIN 100 3.3 CONSIDERATIONS 104 CHAPTER 4: MIGRATION AND CULTURE IDENTITY 105 4.1 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND CULTURE IDENTITY 109 4.2. THE INTERACTION OF CULTURE AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 111 4.3. MIGRATION, CONSUMPTION AND MARKETS 115 4.4 ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MIGRATION 119 4.5 IMMIGRANT AND ETHNIC MINORITY ENTREPRENEURS IN SPAIN: THE CASE OF CAMARA DE: LA CAMARA DE COMERCIO DE PERU EN ESPAÑA 127 4.6 CONSIDERATIONS 134 CHAPTER 5. INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND ETHNIC MARKETS 135 5.1 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND ETHNIC MARKETS: AN OVERVIEW 136 5.2 INSIDE ETHNIC MARKETS: ETHNICS AND NOSTALGIA PRODUCTS 140 6 5.3 THE RECENT LATIN AMERICAN ETHNIC MARKET EXPERIENCE IN SPAIN 143 5.4 THE UNITED STATES LESSONS ON ETHNICS MARKETS 145 5.5 THE SPANISH EXPERIENCE ON ETHNIC MARKETS 149 5.6 NOSTALGIA IN SPAIN 152 5.7 CONSIDERATIONS 157 CHAPTER 6 ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE EUROPEAN CRISIS IN SPAIN 160 6.1 ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE EUROPEAN CRISIS 161 6.2 POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE EUROPEAN CRISIS 167 6.3 CRISIS AND UNEMPLOYMENT: A NEW CHALLENGE FOR IMMIGRANT WORKERS 172 6.3.2 CRISIS AND INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION IN THE SPANISH LABOR MARKET 175 6.3.2 NEW EMIGRATION TRENDS IN SPAIN 178 6.4 CONSIDERATIONS 181 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR POSSIBLE FUTURE RESEARCH LINES 185 REFERENCES 189 7 INTRODUCTION International migration is one of the major global phenomena of the last decades. The flows of persons moving from one country to another, increased strongly in different regions of the world. Not only historic links between countries has been a factor for the development of migration corridors, social and economic contexts had fostered the formation of regional migratory systems. Most people mobility around the world is attached to incentives and motivations for the search of better living conditions. International migration flows increased more numerous, than those observed in previous periods. There are different and complicate structural factors underlying the decision to migrate. Economic scenarios at origin and destination communities play an important factor to motivate labor migration. The development of ethnic economies, a business formula which immigrant groups create for themselves, connects their home country and their destination, configuring a transnational economic influence (Waldinger, 2010; Wong, 2004), which consolidates migratory trajectories. A rational choice analysis of the migration decision making of an individual, would generally involve a description of a desired income, or a desire of a better living conditions, and how these desired interact. An individual is faced with a crossroads to decide to migrate or not, and to analyze those incentives and objectives there to motivate a decision. Individuals need to recognize their objectives and to choose a plan of actions, according their needs and preferences. Income is an important variable for many individuals to take a decision. The typical migrant is faced with the problem of when to migrate and where to go, and sometimes why to migrate, and then how to survive in the host country. The data shows a significant increase of Latin American population living in Spain in the last 15 years. From 1991 to 2001, the total of inhabitants from Latin American countries passed from 210,000 to 840,000. By 2004, more that 1.6 million persons living in Spain 8 were born in Latin America. During these years, the Spanish market was open to receive immigrant workers from many regions around the world, to foster economic growth on those intensive labor sectors.