South Asian businesses in retreat? The case of the UK

Abstract

The quantitative prominence of South Asians in self-employment has assumed an almost taken-for-granted status within the field of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Whilst the issue of Asian business 'success' has provoked controversy, the numerical significance of South Asian self-employment is accepted with little comment. This paper presents evidence that questions this unspoken agreement. Although the experiences of South Asian groups in business differ in important respects, the numerical gap between them and the rest of the small business population is gradually being whittled away. A combination of 'competitive push' and 'labour market pull' factors account for this little-noted convergence. Keywords: South Asian BusinessesRetreatLabour Market PullCompetitive Push