Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Prosperity in Europe: Insights and Lessons from the Italian Case
Abstract This contribution aims at exploring the sectoral and structural characteristics of immigrant entrepreneurship in Italy, highlighting both its dynamism and its intrinsic fragilities within the broader European context. Building on the concept of “globalization from below”, the analysis seeks...
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Centro Scalabriniano de Estudos Migratórios
2025-08-01
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| Series: | REMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-85852025000100303&lng=en&tlng=en |
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| author | Antonio Ricci |
| author_facet | Antonio Ricci |
| author_sort | Antonio Ricci |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This contribution aims at exploring the sectoral and structural characteristics of immigrant entrepreneurship in Italy, highlighting both its dynamism and its intrinsic fragilities within the broader European context. Building on the concept of “globalization from below”, the analysis seeks to illuminate how immigrant-led enterprises, despite operating predominantly in less specialized and lower-income sectors, contribute significantly to economic vitality, social innovation and transnational linkages. The study further intends to offer policy-relevant insights by critically examining the tensions between growth potential and structural vulnerabilities and by formulating strategic recommendations to unlock the full developmental role of immigrant entrepreneurship in a country - like Italy - marked by demographic decline, youth emigration and labour market stagnation. The methodology employed in this article is based on the systematic analysis of quantitative data drawn from authoritative and longitudinally consistent sources, including Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey (LFS), national administrative databases such as Infocamere and specialized research reports. Data sources were selected according to criteria of reliability, comparability and their capacity to capture sectoral trends and entrepreneurial dynamics among foreign-born populations. The analytical framework reflects a socio-statistical perspective shaped by over two decades of expertise in migration studies, gained through long-standing involvement in the Dossier Statistico Immigrazione - Italy’s principal annual compendium on migration - and, more specifically, through the coordination and authorship of several editions of the Rapporto Immigrazione e Imprenditoria, an annual publication edited by IDOS in collaboration with the CNA (Confederazione Nazionale dell’Artigianato e della Piccola e Media Impresa). This background ensures an integrated and critical reading of the data, attentive to both macro-structural dynamics and the micro-foundations of immigrant economic agency. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-97549a69944440ca9ce14b9a6ff1d84c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2237-9843 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Centro Scalabriniano de Estudos Migratórios |
| record_format | Article |
| series | REMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana |
| spelling | doaj-art-97549a69944440ca9ce14b9a6ff1d84c2025-08-20T03:02:32ZengCentro Scalabriniano de Estudos MigratóriosREMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana2237-98432025-08-013310.1590/10.1590/1980-858525038800033103Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Prosperity in Europe: Insights and Lessons from the Italian CaseAntonio Riccihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1023-8517Abstract This contribution aims at exploring the sectoral and structural characteristics of immigrant entrepreneurship in Italy, highlighting both its dynamism and its intrinsic fragilities within the broader European context. Building on the concept of “globalization from below”, the analysis seeks to illuminate how immigrant-led enterprises, despite operating predominantly in less specialized and lower-income sectors, contribute significantly to economic vitality, social innovation and transnational linkages. The study further intends to offer policy-relevant insights by critically examining the tensions between growth potential and structural vulnerabilities and by formulating strategic recommendations to unlock the full developmental role of immigrant entrepreneurship in a country - like Italy - marked by demographic decline, youth emigration and labour market stagnation. The methodology employed in this article is based on the systematic analysis of quantitative data drawn from authoritative and longitudinally consistent sources, including Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey (LFS), national administrative databases such as Infocamere and specialized research reports. Data sources were selected according to criteria of reliability, comparability and their capacity to capture sectoral trends and entrepreneurial dynamics among foreign-born populations. The analytical framework reflects a socio-statistical perspective shaped by over two decades of expertise in migration studies, gained through long-standing involvement in the Dossier Statistico Immigrazione - Italy’s principal annual compendium on migration - and, more specifically, through the coordination and authorship of several editions of the Rapporto Immigrazione e Imprenditoria, an annual publication edited by IDOS in collaboration with the CNA (Confederazione Nazionale dell’Artigianato e della Piccola e Media Impresa). This background ensures an integrated and critical reading of the data, attentive to both macro-structural dynamics and the micro-foundations of immigrant economic agency.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-85852025000100303&lng=en&tlng=enimmigrants entrepreneurshiptransnational networksmigration policyEuropean UnionItaly |
| spellingShingle | Antonio Ricci Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Prosperity in Europe: Insights and Lessons from the Italian Case REMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana immigrants entrepreneurship transnational networks migration policy European Union Italy |
| title | Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Prosperity in Europe: Insights and Lessons from the Italian Case |
| title_full | Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Prosperity in Europe: Insights and Lessons from the Italian Case |
| title_fullStr | Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Prosperity in Europe: Insights and Lessons from the Italian Case |
| title_full_unstemmed | Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Prosperity in Europe: Insights and Lessons from the Italian Case |
| title_short | Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Prosperity in Europe: Insights and Lessons from the Italian Case |
| title_sort | immigrant entrepreneurship and economic prosperity in europe insights and lessons from the italian case |
| topic | immigrants entrepreneurship transnational networks migration policy European Union Italy |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-85852025000100303&lng=en&tlng=en |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT antonioricci immigrantentrepreneurshipandeconomicprosperityineuropeinsightsandlessonsfromtheitaliancase |