The Creation of an Ethnic Economy: Indochinese Business Expansion in Saint Paul

Author(s): David H. Kaplan

Source: Economic Geography, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Apr., 1997), pp. 214-233
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/144448
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 The Creation of an Ethnic Economy: Indochinese
Business Expansion in Saint Paul*
David H. Kaplan
Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242-0001

Abstract: Research on ethnic diversity in U.S. cities has focused on how the growth
of a particular population within a defined, and often segregated, geographic area
fosters the emergence of an ethnically oriented business and labor market. While
several studies have looked at ethnic economies in U.S. cities, comparatively little
attention has been paid to how well these examples meet the definition of ethnic
enclave economies, a special type of ethnic economy that may afford opportunities
equal to that of the mainstream economy. In Saint Paul, Minnesota, refugees from
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos have established a set of businesses within a geo-
graphically specific section of the city. Data from the 1990 U.S. census and a spe-
cial data set that records businesses by location, type, and size for 1981 and 1991
are used to assess how well this emerging economy satisfies certain criteria for an
ethnic enclave economy and to gauge the level of resources enjoyed by the
Indochinese community. In this paper I conclude that the Indochinese ethnic
economy in Saint Paul satisfies some aspects of the ethnic enclave economy and
that this has been accomplished with a minimum of individual financial or educa-
tional resources. At the same time, the Indochinese economy has yet to develop the
broad employment opportunities, sectoral diversity, and business-to-business link-
ages that would position it as a true alternative to the mainstream economy. This
may change as the Indochinese in Saint Paul begin to deepen and broaden their
economic niche.

Key words: ethnic economy, enclave, immigrants, Southeast Asians, Indochinese,

Hmong, entrepreneurship.

The assimilation process ordinarily chronicled the occupational mobility of

moves an ethnic group toward both func- various ethnic groups, often of European
descent, while trying to comprehend the
tional integration and socioeconomic parity
with the majority population. Functional inability of some groups, most notably
integration into the broader society pro- African Americans, to assimilate fully
vides the master key opening up positions (Thernstrom 1973; Lieberson 1980;
to those endowed with the necessary skill Archdeacon 1983; Hershberg et al. 1979).
and a little bit of luck. These opportunities Within the last couple of decades, alter-
in turn unlock decent housing in a nice natives to this general model of economic
assimilation have been broached (Bonacich
neighborhood, material possessions, and
financial security. Within U.S. society, his- 1973; Wilson and Portes 1980; Light 1984).
torians and social scientists have long Ethnic groups may possess certain advan-
tages, whether cultural or situational, that
provide them with a distinct economic
niche. Or, given sufficient size, occupation-
* This paper would not have been possible
without the assistance of Mao Vang and Kent
al diversity, and business resources, some
Treichel. Karen Andrews helped produce ethnic groups might create their own
Figure 2. I am also grateful to funding provid- economies. In a few documented cases,
ed by the University of St. Thomas and the researchers argue that this ethnic subecon-
Association of American Geographers. omy sidesteps the mainstream economy for

214

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 INDOCHINESE BUSINESS 215

an enclave that offers equal or better Research on Ethnic Economies

returns on each individual's human capital
The increased cultural complexity of
( Jiobu 1988; Portes and Jensen 1989). This
U.S. cities has provoked debate about the
alternative route requires the establish- economic conditions under which ethnic
ment of a special kind of ethnic economy,
sometimes termed an ethnic enclave econ- groupsl survive within a segregated milieu.
Traditionally, two general models have
omy, that focuses the entrepreneurial
prevailed. One model, colored by the expe-
activities of an ethnic group within a
riences of late nineteenth and early twenti-
defined geographic space, fosters linkages
eth century European immigrants, views
among these businesses, the customers, the ethnic neighborhood as an economic
and the employees, enjoys some degree of stepping-stone into the wider society.
institutional completeness, and so provides Groups of people, fresh from overseas,
an additional avenue of opportunity for would settle in segregated, dilapidated sec-
compatriots (Portes and Manning 1986; tions of the expanding city, often adjacent
Light et al. 1994). Yet, as Logan, Alba, and to the central business district (Hershberg
McNulty (1994) point out, too little atten- et al. 1979). Variations in skills and urban
tion has been paid to exactly what consti- orientation spurred some of the main dif-
tutes an ethnic enclave economy, as distin- ferences in labor market experiences.
guished from an ethnic economy. Italians (primarily from the agrarian south)
Clarifying this distinction is crucial in order started off as general laborers and green-
to identify possible ethnic enclaves among grocers, while Jews found work in the
the increased instances of urban ethnic apparel industry (Ward 1971).
neighborhoods (see Roseman, Laux, and Specializations could persist through sever-
Thieme 1996). al generations, characterizing a group's
In this paper, I look at how the occupational experience. Ethnic businesses
Indochinese population in Saint Paul, provided recently arrived immigrants with
Minnesota, has established an ethnic sub- special foods, eating establishments, and
economy that partially meets the definition saloons (Rothbart 1993). Separate econom-
of an ethnic enclave economy; I then ic development, in the embrace of segre-
explore how this has been achieved with a gated neighborhoods, was significant for
minimum of individual resources. Most of only a short while (Steinberg 1981). These
the Indochinese arrived as refugees in neighborhoods functioned primarily to
Saint Paul during the 1980s, bereft of boost immigrants into the mainstream
money, education, or skills. Despite these economy and into a middle-class life-style.
impediments, this population successfully Upward mobility coincided with the spatial
capitalized on a captive market, geographic dispersion of people and of business activi-
proximity, and overrepresentation in cer-
ty (Lieberson 1963).
tain economic sectors to transform the A second model views the ethnic neigh-
borhood as a zone of social pathology and
business landscape of a substantial part of
economic marginality. Such neighbor-
the city. Indochinese businesses now dom-
hoods, often inhabited by African
inate a few notable commercial strips,
Americans but also by Latinos, exhibit
employing co-ethnics and serving the eth- tremendous social dislocations and few
nic community. Few would question that
an Indochinese ethnic economy now exists.
At issue is whether this economy fulfills
certain criteria used to characterize ethnic 1 "Ethnic group" is broadly used to encom-
pass all groups that are racially or culturally dis-
enclave economies and whether it may one tinct from the majority population. Much of the
day pose a true alternative to the main- research on ethnic economies examines the
stream economy. experiences of immigrant groups.

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216 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

economic opportunities (Wilson 1987; experience few benefits. Rather than act-
Kasarda 1985; Hughes 1990). Little in the ing as an avenue of social mobility, business
way of homegrown economic development ownership represents a "sideways shift
penetrates these neighborhoods, as the from lumpenproletariat to lumpenbour-
social environment reduces the desire of geoisie" (Aldrich, Jones, and McEvoy 1984,
businesses to invest in the neighborhood 191). These different interpretations may
and of residents to invest in their own be due less to deficiencies or strengths in
human capital (Boyd 1990; Massey 1990).the general model and more from differ-
The few available jobs are low paid and ences among ethnic groups studied and
offer little chance for advancement, and their locales (Model 1992; Zhou and Logan
such economic activity as exists tends to1989). Moreover, the use of wages as an
veer toward the informal and even the ille- indicator of economic health has less rele-
gal (Light 1984; Wilson 1987; Stepick vance in an economy that includes more
1989). self-employed workers than wage earners
These two models share the premise that (Light et al. 1994).
economic advancement and integration are The question of why certain ethnic
linked. The stepping-stone economy can groups are successful in establishing sube-
never offer the rewards of the mainstream conomies can be considered from the van-
economy, and the disadvantaged economy tage point of the sorts of "resources" ethnic
offers nothing at all. An alternative views groups bring to bear in generating develop-
the ethnic neighborhood as an incubator of ment and how these fit into the needs of
ethnic enterprise, affording opportunities the society. Bonacich's (1973) theory of
that may equal or surpass those of the "middleman minorities," for instance,
mainstream economy (Portes and Jensen explains the success of some ethnic groups
1989). The idea of an ethnic enclave econ- in terms of their external relations between
omy needs to be kept conceptually distinct existing dominant and subordinate groups
from that of an ethnic economy or ethnic and their internal status as sojourners.
enterprise. Immigrant groups generally Some research points to the importance of
display high rates of entrepreneurship, in group resources, including the use of
part because this substitutes for low-wage unpaid family labor (Light and Bonacich
employment (Light 1984). But an ethnic 1988), revolving credit institutions (Lee
enclave economy confers benefits by virtue 1995a), an informal recruiting network that
of its very concentration. At its best it pro- reduces employer risks (Bailey and
vides ethnic entrepreneurs easier access to Waldinger 1991; Lee 1992), or the pres-
capital, supplies, labor, and markets, while ence of a captive, linguistically isolated cus-
it also creates decent job opportunities for tomer base (Evans 1989). Other research
other members of the ethnic community finds individual resources, such as educa-
(Wilson and Portes 1980; Portes and Bach tion, wealth, and experience, more rele-
1985). According to Portes and Jensen vant. Bates (1994) demonstrates that, as a
(1989, 945), "ethnic enterprise can be an whole, Asian immigrants enjoy tremendous
effective avenue for economic mobility" for financial and human capital assets (see also
male workers, while Jiobu (1988) claims Lee's (1992) discussion of Los Angeles's
that ethnicity can be converted into an eco- Korean community). And the Chinese eth-
nomic asset within a protected economic nic economy within Los Angeles's San
niche (see also Zhou and Logan 1989). Gabriel Valley is doubly blessed: most
Other research does not show this effect. entrepreneurs enjoy substantial wealth and
Sanders and Nee (1987) argue that this continued commercial ties to their home-
benefit applies only to immigrant entrepre- lands (Tseng 1994).
neurs and not to employees, who do better The nature of resources influences the
outside the enclave. And a study in Britain constitution and geographic basis of the
suggests that ethnic entrepreneurs there ethnic economy. The greater primacy of

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 INDOCHINESE BUSINESS 217

individual resources, such as money or (1991) emphasize how Chinese apparel

education, suggests an economy made up
of several successful entrepreneurs who,
while possibly interacting for the moment,
have few financial incentives to cohere as a
community. They also have fewer reasons
to concentrate spatially, since they may be
more likely to serve nonethnic markets, to
recruit outside the community, to get cred-
it from nonethnic banks, and to conduct
business transactions outside the group.
Reliance on group resources derived from
the community suggests an ethnic econo-
my composed of business owners indebted
to co-ethnics for start-up capital, employ-
ees recruited through informal channels,
and a customer base that is captive or loyal
or both. These firms will have more rea-
sons to secure ethnic territory and will ben-
efit more from spatial clustering.
Definitions of an Ethnic Enclave
Economy
Research on ethnic economies often
uses different definitions, leading to confu-
sion and contradictory findings. As dis- Chinese in the San Gabriel Valley own a
cussed earlier, this confusion is further wide variety of medium to large busi-
amplified by conceptual differences nesses (Tseng 1994), and Chinese immi-
between an "ethnic economy" and an "eth-
nic enclave economy" (Light et al. 1994). establishing apparel factories, most of
Most of the research to date has focused which hire (and exploit) large numbers
primarily on combinations of the following
criteria (see Logan, Alba, and McNulty
1994; Light and Karageorgis 1994).
*Proprietorship and co-ethnic
employment. The basic criterion for an
ethnic economy is whether members of
an ethnic group evince high rates of
ownership in general. Immigrants histor-
ically have demonstrated high rates of
entrepreneurship, exceeding the rate of
self-employment among the native born
in 1980 (Light 1984; Light and Bonacich
1988). Many of these ethnic businesses
also use unpaid family labor and less
expensive labor from the community.
Lee (1992) reports that close to half of
her Korean survey respondents utilize
family labor, while Bailey and Waldinger
manufacturers in New York recruit
almost all new employees from the
Chinese immigrant population, shun-
ning formal channels like the Job
Service.
*Sectoral concentration. Ethnic
economies tend to concentrate in a few
economic sectors, just as ethnic employ-
ees tend to be found in certain fields.
This specialization might reflect a specif-
ic set of skills, portions of the economy
that are available for enterprise, the out-
come of an informal network, or the
needs of the marketplace (Logan, Alba,
and McNulty 1994). Initial exposure
may then create an opening for other co-
ethnics. Light (1980) details how Asian
groups in Los Angeles sell liquor licens-
es within the group rather than to out-
siders. Similar processes have also been
observed in hiring (Bailey and
Waldinger 1991; Waldinger 1994). Such
ethnic specializations are often in small,
mom-and-pop type businesses, but this
does not apply in all contexts. The
grants in New York have been active in
of co-ethnic arrivals ( Lii 1995).
*Geographic concentration. The resi-
dential segregation of an ethnic group
might correspond with the clustering of
ethnic business activity, and indeed cer-
tain neighborhoods are often defined by
a concentration of ethnically oriented
businesses. A strong correlation has
been observed, for example, between
the density of Koreans in Los Angeles
and Korean-owned businesses (Lee
1995b). Sassen-Koob (1989) suggests
that this correspondence functions to
take advantage of cheaper, more pliable
labor for industries in the formal sector,
as well as to meet the internal demands
of the ethnic community itself. Research
on ethnic economies to date indicates
that it is important to distinguish

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218 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

between where ethnics live and where businesses into an ethnic enclave economy
they work because the ethnic enclave is with a defined spatial focus of activity, and
not always the same as the ethnic neigh- in which businesses are integrated with
borhood (Portes and Jensen 1989). each other and with the ethnic community.
Rogers (1992) argues that a true ethnic Moreover, the ethnic enclave presumes
enclave is less spatially dependent than increased diversification, as it captures
either the stepping-stone neighborhood more of the functions of the mainstream
or the disadvantaged neighborhood in economy and offers "institutional com-
that it serves a more geographically dis- pleteness" to members of the ethnic group
persed population of co-ethnics (see also (Portes and Manning 1986).
Tseng 1994). Overall, this question has Examples of ethnic economies suggest
not received nearly enough attention that few satisfy all of the above criteria
(see Light et al. 1994), partly because absolutely. The Cuban community in
geographically specific business data is Miami employs about 70 percent of all
weak and because there has been little Miami's Cubans and dominates specific
research done by geographers. sectors of the Miami economy (Stepick
*Functional linkages. The difference 1989). But while most businesses are
between a collection of ethnic business- focused in the "Little Havana" neighbor-
es and a true ethnic enclave depends on hood, the better-off participants live out-
how well integrated various ethnic enter- side the enclave (Portes and Jensen 1989).
prises are with each other and with the The highly successful Korean economy in
broader economy. Ethnic businesses Los Angeles employed 80 percent of all
may be integrated vertically, through co- Korean men in 1980 and has developed a
ethnic suppliers and co-ethnic cus- dominant business presence in a neighbor-
tomers, and they may be integrated hor- hood now known as Koreatown (Light
izontally, where an ethnic group domi- 1984). Yet most Koreans acquire credit
nates a particular sector of the economy. from outside channels, most live outside of
Wilson and Martin (1982) employ an Koreatown, most Korean-owned firms
inferential input/output model to operate in other neighborhoods (many
demonstrate that Cuban firms in Miami Latino or African American), and Korean
are far more vertically integrated than businesses often employ non-Koreans (Lee
African American firms. They conclude 1992; see also Min (1988) for a discussion
that the "Cuban community seems to of Koreans in Atlanta). The Chinese in
have created a genuine alternative to the Monterey Park have created a "new subur-
dual economy" (Wilson and Martin ban Chinatown" that hosts myriad econom-
1982, 155). Jiobu (1988) argues that the ic and social institutions, as well as a grow-
Japanese in Southern California benefit- ing political power base. In some respects,
ed from early dominance in the truck this ethnic economy has replaced the main-
farming and fruit and vegetable whole- stream economy, with Chinese dominance
saling sector. This horizontal hegemony in banks, real estate, manufacturing, retail,
sheltered the Japanese from discrimina- and professional services (Fong 1994;
tion and furnished a base for advance- Tseng 1994).
ment.
In any event, a single model conceals
important distinctions between ethnic
Most of the research to date has concen- groups (one reason why lumping together
trated on proprietorship and sectoral con-all Asians or all Latinos may be unwise) and
centration. Comparatively few studies have also hides variations in urban context and
explored the role of geographic concentra-in timing. The relationship between a given
tion and functional linkages (Light et al.ethnic group and a given economic struc-
1994). Yet these latter two criteria trans-
ture is almost synergistic, with each group
form a loose collection of ethnic-owned seizing whatever opportunity is available to

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 INDOCHINESE BUSINESS 219

it in a particular context (Ettlinger and refugees (Mortland and Ledgerwood

Kwon 1994). At the same time, the concept
of an ethnic economic enclave requires
some standard criteria by which the
progress of different ethnic economies can
be gauged.
In the remainder of this paper, I exam-
ine how the growth in the Indochinese
population in Saint Paul has spurred the
development of an Indochinese economy.
This study emphasizes the geographic
aspects of demographic and business
change within a section of the city. It focus-
es on the role of neighborhood concentra-
tion and variegation in addressing how well
this emerging ethnic economy meets the
definition of an ethnic enclave economy. A
related issue involves how neighborhood
concentration, along with family labor and
a secure customer base, may offer a potent
group resource that facilitates Indochinese
business activity. Certainly the evidence
presented in the next section shows that
the Indochinese community possesses few
of the financial or educational assets that
have benefited other immigrant groups.
1987), with a disproportionate effect on
Saint Paul (see Table 1). While the city's
total population declined slightly, the pop-
ulation of all minority groups grew and the
population of Asians tripled in the 1980s.
The principal source of this expansion
stemmed from the influx of Vietnamese,
Cambodians, Laotians, and especially
Hmong.2 Almost all are war refugees, and
many came in a "third phase" stream of
refugees beginning in 1982 (Desbarats
1985). Minnesota emerged as a secondary
destination, part of a broad reshuffling of
refugees moving closer to other family
members and co-ethnic patrons who might
be able to help them get settled.
Established communities attracted even
greater numbers who sought neighbor-
hoods where they would feel most com-
fortable (Mortland and Ledgerwood 1987).
Table 1
Population Changes in Saint Paul,
1970-1990

1970 1980 1990

Growth of the Indochinese Total population 309,980 270

White 295,741 243,226 224,302
Community in Saint Paul Black 10,930 13,305 20,330
Native American 1,906 2,538 3,400
The Minneapolis and Saint Paul metro- Other 699 3,514 5,205
politan area has been described as the Latino 7,179 7,864 10,318
Asian 704 5,345 18,998
"least plural of the large cities" (Rogers Chinese 428 703
1992, 242). It has few minorities and lags Filipino 327 544
behind other regions in foreign immigra- Japanese 238 239
tion. Data from the United States Asian Indian 393 1,010
Korean 342 652
Department of Justice Immigration Vietnamese
and 925 1,307
Naturalization Service (1992) indicate that
Cambodian NA 1,065
the Twin Cities ranked 32d in fiscal 1992,
Hmong NA 12,312
with 5,447 legal immigrants, and failed Laotian
to NA 542
Thai NA 50
rank within the top 50 destinations in fiscal
1991. Overall, immigrants make up about Source:
4 U.S. Bur
and VanDrasek
percent of the metropolitan area popula-
tion, most of that within the core cities.
Substantial Indochinese immigration
2
beginning after 1975 has proven an excep- Some have s
Table
tion to this general trend. As of 1986, 1 may b
Minnesota ranked within the top nine
Indochinese in
in
states in its population of Indochinese Saint Paul (

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 220 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Of particular interest is the large Hmong
population, second in size only to Fresno,
California. Many Hmong gained a foothold
in Saint Paul as early as 1976. Direct spon-
sorship of Hmong by church groups like
Catholic Charities, the presence of some
influential leaders, and the favorable
impression many Hmong developed of
Minnesota stimulated secondary migration
(Downing et al. 1984). The Hmong were
peasant farmers in the northern mountains
of Laos who aided the Central Intelligence
Agency during the Vietnam War (Tai
1993b). They came with almost none of the
skills needed to survive in a modern econ-
omy-most were illiterate in any lan-
guage-and they have suffered acutely
from problems of joblessness and poverty
(Downing et al. 1984). A survey conducted
in 1982 suggested widespread disillusion-
ment with American society (Downing et
al. 1984). Since that time, prospects have
brightened, although the Hmong remain
quite poor (Tai 1993b).
Because of the numerical dominance of
Indochinese among all Asians in Saint Paul,
the distribution of Indochinese by block
group (with the exception of Asian concen-
trations in the far northwest) is fairly repre-
sented by Figure 1. Indochinese are
focused around the central city, with con-
centrations extending along two significant
corridors: Rice Street and University
Avenue. In addition, many Indochinese
have moved northeast to the Lake Phalen
neighborhood and to the "west side,"
across the river from the central business
district. Part of this distribution corre-
sponds with the location of public housing
projects, like that of the Mount Airy com-
plex, and more generally with low-rent dis-
tricts throughout the city.
While concentrated, Saint Paul's
Indochinese population is not truly segre-

-0 2 4~~~~~~~~~~~ I
0 2 4

Figure 1. Distrib
Source: U.S. B

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 INDOCHINESE BUSINESS 221

gated from Saint Paul's other groups. Block
groups to the north and east of downtown
are home to Saint Paul's African American
community, while block groups across the
Mississippi River include most of the
Latino population. Block groups on the
east side and near Lake Phalen are shared
with whites. More intense segregation is
revealed at finer geographic scales, espe-
cially within Saint Paul's public housing
projects, where Hmong and other
Indochinese occupy 80 percent of all units
(Adams and VanDrasek 1993).
Much has been made of the human cap-
ital advantages of Asian subgroups (Lee
1992; Bates 1994; Tseng 1994), but these
do not apply to Saint Paul's Indochinese
community. Data from the 5 percent 1990
Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) Hmong in Saint Paul possess a college
are summarized in Table 2 (United States degree (their metrowide percentage is
Bureau of the Census 1993a). The Asian
population as a whole consists primarily of
recently arrived immigrants who are gener-
ally younger than other populations. Asians
also suffer a high degree of linguistic isola-
tion. Most speak a language other than
English at home, about one-quarter report
little or no English language skills, and
fewer than one-third are native English
speakers. The more settled population of
Latinos, on the other hand, include many
who speak Spanish but few who cannot get
around in English.
Asians also enjoy fewer advantages in
education and income, especially when
Indochinese are distinguished from other
Asian groups. Asians reporting ancestries
outside Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos are
better educated than the white population,
but the Indochinese suffer low levels of
education. Only about 4 percent of adult
lower), and even the better-educated
Vietnamese fall short of non-Indochinese
groups. Likewise, the average total income

Table 2

Characteristics of Saint Paul Racial/Ethnic Groups (Percentages)

Major Groups Asian Subgroups

Native Viet- Cam-

White Black American Asian Latino Hmo

% of total population 83 7.1 1.3 6.5 3.6

% of Asian population 61.7 8.3 5.5 5.4 5.8 3.9 3.0
Immigration
Native 97.0 93.8 91.1 28.3 80.7 31.3 4.9 24.7 23.3 30.3 7.2 28.5
1980s arrival 0.9 4.3 5.0 52.2 11.7 53.5 61.5 58.4 40.1 32.2 63.9 67.2
Language skills
Non-English 4.8 5.4 6.3 71.8 39.7 76.1 81.6 81.4 83.3 56.4 33.5 71.5
Poor English 0.4 0.5 0.6 25.1 6.5 30.5 24.7 27.3 15.8 7.6 17.8 13.9
Age
15 and under 18.8 31.4 31.6 47.7 39.3 54.5 29.6 45.8 51.9 37.0 48.9 12.0
65 and over 15.4 5.7 3.8 3.3 3.9 3.6 6.5 0.0 0.0 5.3 5.9 0.0
Educationa
Less than 9th grade 8.7 9.1 11.2 44.6 23.3 62.8 21.4 75.8 90.2 24.6 16.6 0.0
High school 30.2 33.9 50.3 12.1 25.7 12.0 9.9 15.6 0.0 5.6 0.0 0.0
College or higher 27.6 16.7 1.0 21.2 12.4 4.1 28.2 0.0 0.0 56.5 83.4 79.6
Total Incomeb ($s) 20,176 13,013 12,242 13,346 14,655 10,905 7,651 4,047 6,519 20,63219,56
Source: Public use microdata 5% samples (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1993a).
aAge 25 and over.
bFor those in the labor force.

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222 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

for Asians as a whole masks a division

Census conducts a Survey of Minority
Owned Business Establishments
between relatively affluent Indians,
Koreans, and Chinese and impoverished
(SMOBE) that explicitly tabulates firm
Vietnamese, Hmong, Cambodians, and
ownership by broad racial group, b
Laotians. The poverty rate is high acrossincludes detailed information by econom
the metropolitan area, where one-half of all
sector only for the United States as a wh
(United States Bureau of the Census
Hmong households (with higher than the
1993b).
average number of children) subsist on less
than $15,000 a year (Tai 1993b). This study uses a special data set
These data indicate that Indochinese acquired through Contacts Influential, a
enjoy few of the individual resources that business directory service (Contacts
might stimulate business creation. WhileInfluential 1981, 1991). Contacts
not reported in the PUMS data, most alsoInfluential claims to be the most compre-
appear to have little in the way of invest- hensive source of business information and
ment capital, in sharp contrast to Bates's
bases its listings on Yellow Page surveys
(1994) findings for Asians as a whole. One and follow-ups. Businesses are recorded by
other factor that might be significant, busi-street address, Standard Industrial
ness experience, does not appear to charac-Category (SIC), and employment size. A
terize any of the Indochinese groups who comparison with figures provided by the
have moved to the United States (LightCity of Saint Paul indicates that the
and Bonacich 1988; Fass 1984; Airriess and Contacts Influential data covered about 77
Clawson 1991). Without any obvious indi- percent of businesses and 71 percent of
vidual resources, business development employees in 1991 and 62 percent of
among the Indochinese population mustemployees in 1981 (the city had no busi-
be a consequence of external aid, some ness numbers for the year).4 These omis-
internally realized group resources, or asions are probably not distributed uniform-
combination of the two. ly across economic sectors and across geo-
graphic space, but hopefully the discrepan-
cies are not great enough to compromise
the general findings. In addition, the data-
Business Development in the base undoubtedly shortchanges smaller
1980s businesses and ethnic businesses. For
these reasons, the information from
A full accounting of the nature of and
changes in business development requires Contacts Influential is supplemented with
data not readily available. The ideal datamore anecdotal sources, including observa-
set would include information on business tions, interviews, the Asian Business and
ownership, business type, and business size Community Directory,5 and other items.
by location. No single source cross-tabu- Neighborhood Business Changes
lates all of these attributes.3 Census data
report the demographic characteristics of The pattern of business change between
small areas, but include no business infor- 1981 and 1991 is shown in Figure 2.6 Of
mation. PUMS data provide detailed infor-
mation on persons and households, but
without fine geographic detail and with no 4 Thanks to Mark Vanderschaaf of Saint
information on businesses. The Economic Paul's Department of Planning and Economic
Development for providing these figures.
5 This directory is not a comprehensive guide
to Asian-owned businesses, since it includes
3 Bates (1993) evaluates some of the databas- many firms not Asian-owned and does not
es used in studies of minority-owned business- include some that are Asian-owned (see Asian
es. Business and Community Directory 1994).

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 INDOCHINESE BUSINESS 223

Net Change
!n -212 to -25
1 -24 to -10

i -9 to -3
-2 to +2

I +3 to+9
+10 to +24
* +25 to +97

Kilometers _|ni

Figure 2. Net change in number of f

Source: Contacts Influential (

interest According tois

study to the president
the of
this one such
substanti
ness growth
that
agency,7took place
most revitalization arou
organization
central business began in the 1980s as(although
district a response to the th
itself registered a net
declining loss within
economic conditions in the the
These neighborhoods contravene
inner city, and several of these agencies
nomenon found were
ininitiated
many cities,
by the Indochinese commu- whe
inner city endures significant
nity itself. Many of the refugees whourban
and a net decrease
entered thisin business
area directly benefited from act
Instead, neighborhoods to the
this assistance. One development agency nor
west of the CBD, across the river
along lower Rice Street, for example, pro-
West Side, and along some
vided 80 loans importan
and 90 grants for business
ridors, were revitalized in the 1980s
improvements and expansions, while
Much of the new business
attracting activit
12 new businesses. Another
undertaken by immigrants with little
organization operates under the auspices of
up capital and little entrepreneurial
a local bank and provides training and
ence. Fortunately,securesSaint Paul
loans for would-be boasts a
business own-
work of community development ag
ers. For many immigrants, entrepreneur-
that promote housing and business
ship became an attractive alternative to
opment within the neighborh
finding a job within the broader economy.

6 No adjustments are made for the com

ness of the business data here. Since the 1981 7 The comments of Mihailo Temali of West-
data are less complete than the 1991 data, any ern Initiative for Neighborhood Development
data on changes are positively biased. are appreciated.

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224 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

The publisher of the Asian Business and Businesses in which Asians are overrep-
Community Directory argues that the new resented, based on the 1987 Economic
immigrants "do not have enough English Census for the United States, are listed in
language skills to earn a degree to obtain Table 3, and industry employment data for
professional jobs... They use business as an Saint Paul, based on the 1990 PUMS, are
alternative way of living in the United presented in Table 4. The national figures
States."8 mask major distinctions between Asian
The sum of these decisions manifests groups and local contexts, but crudely
itself in the burgeoning retail development denote sectoral specialization. An overrep-
along University Avenue and Rice Street. resentation index was calculated (used also
The 1987 Economic Census SMOBE data by Logan, Alba, and McNulty 1994) that
set combines Asian and Native American compares the representation of a particular
firms in Minnesota and indicates that the group in a sector with its representation in
all other economic sectors. Table 3 lists
number with paid employees in Minnesota
doubled between 1982 and 1987 and that, those sectors in which Asian ownership is
by 1987, 85 such firms were located in 50 percent greater than in all other sectors.
Saint Paul. This expansion has restored the The data in Table 4 provide a useful
area from what the publisher of the Asian glimpse of industry employment among
Business and Community Directory groups in Saint Paul but must be consid-
describes as a previously "bad neighbor- ered cautiously because the data apply to a
hood" rife with prostitution, drug dealing, 5 percent sample of a relatively small pop-
and abandoned buildings. Indochinese ulation. They demonstrate that Asians
have bought, refurbished, and occupied exhibit higher levels of entrepreneurship
many of the abandoned buildings. The compared with all other minority groups
ensuing businesses have sparked new cus- (not including "Other"), and that this holds
tomer traffic, often from a considerable especially for Indochinese. A higher per-
distance. centage of Asians work as "family workers."
This probably understates the number of
Business Activity among Asians family workers because it omits children
who help their parents in the family busi-
Establishments within just-emerging ness.
ethnic economies often require low start-
While the strong concentration
up costs, low labor costs, and an assured
apparel manufacturing, health serv
customer base (see Light and Bonacich and fishing, hunting, and gathering m
1988). Usually these are found within the
likely do not apply to the Indochinese c
"protected sector" that provides ethnic- munity in Saint Paul, concentrations in
specific goods and services to co-ethnics ious retail trades and in personal ser
(Logan, Alba, and McNulty 1994). Such seem to fit. Further analysis of Table 4
businesses do not generally bring in money gests that Asians in Saint Paul work in
from outside the ethnic community. ufacturing and education, although the
Businesses that draw from a wider base
no evidence of ownership in these sect
(the "export sector," to use Logan's termi- The types of businesses most likely
nology) are integral to a true ethnic enclave owned by Indochinese include food sto
and often include lines in manufacturing restaurants, and other retail stores,
and construction. But this takes time as the
additional activity in bakery produ
ethnic economy matures and diversifies dressmaking shops, and social servi
(see Stepick 1989). These classic small business lines are
joined by an interest in agriculture. This
may seem surprising as an urban occupa-
8 The comments of Nghi Si Huynh are appre- tion, but it is a mainstay of Hmong life
ciated.
here. Many Hmong own plots of land out-

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 INDOCHINESE BUSINESS 225

Table 3

National Overrepresentation among Asians

Number of Number of
SIC Description Firms Receipts ($s) Employees Indexa

09 Fishing, hunting, and trapping 656 49,255 123 3.32

23 Apparel and other textile productsb 1,781 0 0 6.40
5- Retail trade 37,399 10,613,682 165,865 2.15
53 General merchandise stores 481 113,638 1,080 1.59
54 Food stores 7,430 2,810,796 26,075 2.73
56 Apparel and accessory stores 2,242 489,078 6,847 1.71
58 Eating and drinking places 17,887 3,258,630 103,743 3.41
70 Hotels and other lodging places 4,507 1,177,169 27,682 5.23
72 Personal services 8,304 819,467 21,249 1.75
80 Health services 13,292 2,830,922 34,917 2.32

Source: Economic Census 1987, SMOBE data (U.S. Burea

aIndex =
[Ethnic firms in category/All other firms in category]/
[Ethnic firms not in category/All other firms not in cat
bNo receipt or employee data available.

side Saint Paul, while others have convert-

ed vacant lots within the city to gardens fa
(People helping people..." 1994). Hmong also

Table 4

Labor Force Characteristics of Saint Paul Racial/Ethnic Groups (Percentages)

Major Groups Asian Subgroups

Native Viet- Cam-

White Black American Asian Latino Hm

Class
Entrepreneur 6.8 1.5 0.0 3.4 3.2 7.0 3.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Family worker 0.3 0.5 0.0 1.3 0.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.4
Industry
Primary 1.1 0.5 1.7 3.3 4.6 7.0 3.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manufacturing 16.7 15.7 21.1 30.0 4.4 46.2 32.9 0.0 48.2 17.5 31.3 5.4
Retaila 9.3 8.8 7.3 7.0 7.5 0.0 27.5 0.0 35.3 0.0 0.0 0.0
Food 1.8 0.8 1.5 4.2 1.5 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 29.4 0.0 8.4
Restaurant 6.0 8.2 5.4 7.5 6.7 6.9 7.5 25.0 0.0 9.8 0.0 12.8
Hotels 0.8 1.6 0.0 4.1 7.3 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.7
Professional 16.4 20.6 54.7 7.4 9.9 7.4 3.1 50.0 6.5 0.0 0.0 0.0
Education 9.7 8.4 2.6 15.4 7.2 8.9 20.7 0.0 0.0 15.8 68.8 33.3
Government 4.5 4.5 3.6 2.7 4.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.1
Occupation
Managerial/professional 27.5 13.9 8.9 19.2 15.9 12.7 18.0 0.0 0.0 6.8 68.8 50.4
Sales/service 28.1 39.4 32.8 27.7 15.9 22.9 24.5 75.0 64.7 9.8 0.0 28.9
Blue collar 21.5 21.9 32.1 32.2 27.4 50.7 32.4 25.0 35.3 20.7 0.0 0.0

Source: Public use microdata 5% samples (U.S. Bureau of the Censu

aRetail excludes food stores and restaurants.

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226 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Business Activity within Asian specific businesses, food stores and restau-
Neighborhoods rants, are presented separately.
Asian areas have slightly less total busi-
As mentioned earlier, little research has
ness activity, in numbers of businesses an
been done on the geographic contours of in numbers of jobs, than would be expect-
ethnic economies. Some of the most suc-
ed given their percentage of total popula-
cessful economies, as measured by diversi- tion. More remarkable are the rapid
fication and revenue, are more dispersed increases in both jobs and firms since 1981,
spatially but still focused around a core. with the growth in Asian neighborhood
Moreover, business concentrations do not outstripping growth in non-Asian neigh
necessarily correspond with the owners' borhoods. This underlines the considerable
residences. Portes and Jensen (1989) economic dynamism within inner-city dis-
observe that prosperous Cubans generally tricts of Saint Paul, displayed in Figure 2.
live outside areas where they own busi- Businesses in Asian neighborhoods also
nesses, which are neighborhoods that tend to be slightly smaller than in non-
house the less successful. Yet a small, Asian neighborhoods, perhaps reflecting
newly arrived ethnic population, such as the greater likelihood of ethnic ownership.
the Indochinese, could be expected to The business composition of Asian
focus entrepreneurial activity within the neighborhoods differs from that of non-
ethnic neighborhood, because it makes Asian neighborhoods within Saint Paul,
sense to be close to the customer base. In with business activity most pronounced
Britain, for instance, the majority of Asian among those sectors with high Asian repre-
traders locate in neighborhoods with a sentation. In general, retail firms (not
heavy Asian concentration (Aldrich, Jones, including food stores), professional offices
and McEvoy 1984). Asian neighborhoods (legal, medical, and financial), and services
in Saint Paul might be expected to reflect, are underrepresented in Asian neighbor-
then, some of the specializations of hoods. These businesses underwent sepa-
rate trajectories during the 1980s, however,
Indochinese entrepreneurs.
as retail firms decreased while the number
Table 5 compares the types of business
of service and professional firms registered
activity observed in block groups with a
greater increases in Asian than in non-
substantial Asian population with business
Asian areas. Within these broad categories,
activity elsewhere in Saint Paul. Changes
since 1981 are also presented. the directory data show some intriguing
changes. Among professional firms, the
"Substantial" Asian population is defined as
number of medical clinics declined slightly,
more than 10 percent and was chosen asfirms
while law a became more numerous
threshold because it encompasses areas of
and bigger. Financial services increased
intense concentration along with adjacent
across the board, especially insurance and
districts that might also attract Indochinese
real estate agencies. Within the category of
enterprise. Close to two-thirds of Saint
services, personal services declined while
Paul's Asian population live within theseservices
business 42 grew. Surprisingly, the
block groups, compared with 16 number
percent of of
automotive and repair services
the total population. These districts have Most
also grew. a types of retail businesses
pronounced Indochinese presence,
(not including food stores and restaurants)
notable because few Asians lived within
remained stable, but apparel stores, liquor
these areas before 1980. Business types stores, and pawnshops declined. Social ser-
were derived from the economic classifica-
vices, not listed in Table 5, expanded sig-
tions used by Contacts Influential, mod- nificantly in these neighborhoods as well.
eled after the Standard Industrial At the same time as manufacturing
decreased
Classification system. Not all types of busi- throughout Saint Paul as a
nesses are considered here, and two fairly
whole, Asian neighborhoods experienced

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 INDOCHINESE BUSINESS 227

Table 5

Business Composition of Asian Block Groups

Population 1990 Total Activity Manufacturing Retaila

Number of Asian Asian
Block Groups Sum (N) (%) Firms Jobs Firms Jobs Firms Jobs
Over 10% Asian 42 44,957 12,387 27.6 840 16,667 82 2,977 100 1,350
(Change from 1981 (%)) (17.2) (28.8) (24.2) (-9.3) (-22.5) (-35.0)
Under 10% Asian 280 227,279 6,810 3.0 5,353 118,657 396 18,634 734 7,954
(Change from 1981 (%)) (3.3) (14.6) (-20.3) (-51.2) (-16.4) (43.6)
Total 322 272,236 19,197 13.6 6,193 135,324 478 21,611 834 9,304

Percent in Asian block groups 13.0 16.5 64.5 - 13.6 12.3 17.2 13.8 12.0 14.5
Food Restaurant Professional Service
Number of
Block Groups Firms Jobs Firms Jobs Firms Jobs Firms Jobs
Over 10% Asian 42 31 423 68 1,194 221 4,769 120 1,599
(Change from 1981 (%)) (19.2) (218.0) (4.6) (63.1) (29.2) (43.2) (20.0) (27.7)
Under 10% Asian 280 120 2,453 333 5,724 1,496 35,786 824 9,521
(Change from 1981 (%)) (-9.1) (43.3) (-0.3) (137.0) (5.5) (60.2) (6.7) (49.4)
Total 322 151 2,876 401 6,918 1,717 40,554 944 11,119

Percent in Asian block groups 13.0 20.5 14.7 17.0 17.3 12.9 11.8 12.7 14.4

Source: Contacts Influential, 1981 and 1991.

aRetail excludes food stores and restaurants.

an industrial renaissance of sorts. Therewith

is food, they differ in their require-
ments. Restaurants often cater to an out-
no consistent pattern in which manufactur-
ing establishments grew, although factoriesside clientele and as such may be consid-
producing medical apparatus grew in num- ered something of a "beachhead" business
ber. While manufacturing is an important for the first entrants. Food stores, along
component of a complete ethnic enclave, with other retail establishments, require a
there is no evidence of Indochinese owner- population of co-ethnics as a market. Most
ship; the relative predominance in Asian customers at Indochinese grocery stores
neighborhoods probably has more to do are Indochinese themselves; without this
with the historic correspondence between customer base these stores would not exist.
low-rent areas and factories. No direct This market orientation is reflected in store
information is available on whether Asians culture, with labels, signs, and conversation
within these neighborhoods are employedin Vietnamese or other Indochinese lan-
in nearby manufacturing plants, but theguage. The data in Table 5 accord with the
presence of these establishments may cre- different position of the two types of busi-
ate additional job opportunities for neigh- ness: whereas the grocery business took off
borhood residents and may explain the in the 1980s, the restaurant business was
high percentage of Asians employed in much flatter, with increases in employment
manufacturing. accounted for by a few large non-Asian-
There is much evidence of Indochinese owned stores.

ownership of food stores and restaurants;

Change in a Business Corridor
these businesses are a prominent fixture of
Indochinese neighborhoods in Saint Paul. The aggregate changes in Saint Paul
While both types of business are involved block groups reflect important transforma-

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228 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

tions throughout the city, but the emer- A second change has to do with the com-
gence of an Indochinese economy is best position of businesses. University Avenue
captured within the space of a few key in 1981 was a center for automobile deal-
blocks. Figure 3 displays a schematic tran- ers, auto parts dealers, and auto repair
sect of six blocks along University Avenue, shops. The neighborhood just to the south,
a wide, busy corridor beginning less than a once a thriving African American commer-
kilometer from the state capitol and cial district, was destroyed in the construc-
extending west (see inset in Fig. 2). This tion of Interstate 1-94. The neighborhood
strip was selected because it is probably to the north, nicknamed Frogtown, was a
the most visible example of Indochinese
traditional working-class neighborhood
business success. The data presented here that housed a number of German and East
come primarily from the Contacts
Influential directories for 1981 and 1991. European immigrants (Martin and
The 1991 figure includes additional entries Lanegran 1983). Other businesses present
in 1981 included wholesalers, factories,
provided by the Asian Business and
Community Directory and the field work
restaurants, and medical establishments.
of a research assistant.9 Asian ownership is While many businesses continued to oper-
determined on the basis of surnames. ate, the complexion of the corridor was
All those familiar with University dirty and dilapidated,
Avenue agree that it altered appreciably By 1991 the transformation of University
during the 1980s. A basic difference has to Avenue resulted in many more grocery
do with ownership. In 1981, only one busi- stores, a few more restaurants, more finan-
ness, a Korean restaurant, was Asian- cial services, and several other firms and
owned. By 1991, this stretch was speckled organizations geared toward the needs of
with Asian, and primarily Indochinese, the immigrant community. The develop-
owned businesses. Because such business-
ment of International Plaza in 1988, com-
es tend to be smaller and less likely to be
posed of Indochinese-owned businesses,
listed in business (even Asian business)
has assumed significance as an anchor.
directories, the total number of Asian busi-
While some of the automobile dealerships,
nesses in Figure 3 may be understated.
repair shops, and parts suppliers remain,
The correspondence between this corridor
and the Indochinese community is also what is striking about University Avenue
circa 1991 is its increased level of diversifi-
clear. University Avenue is a significant
focal point, and a large percentage of cation. Many of the "traditional" Asian
Indochinese live within two kilometers of immigrant businesses have been supple-
this stretch. They offer a substantial and, in mented with insurance agencies, financial
some cases, captive market for the emerg- management services, and small printing
ing businesses here. And they may explain presses.
why, according to the publisher of the What remains to be seen is whether
Asian Business and Community Directory, diversification will continue and if the
"very low numbers [of businesses] are fail- Indochinese presence along University
ing." Avenue will expand with time. A visit to
this corridor in 1995 indicates that it con-
tinues to attract Indochinese businesses,
9 This introduces some time displacement
many opening up new lines. Some of the
between the 1991 data from Contacts
auto repair shops are now Hmong owned,
Influential, the 1993 data from the Asian
Business and Community Directory, and andthe
there are also new video stores, gift
shops, import stores, and several more
1994 information gathered by research assistant
Mao Vang. insurance agencies.

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 INDOCHINESE BUSINESS 229

University Avenue, 1981 University Avenue, 1991

r)ale Dale
I

Liquor Store
[Bar I Restaurant I Restaurant
Restaurant

Lumber ] W Dentist's Office

I
JA
Electronic Wholesale[ I Electronic Wholesale I
I Dentist I
Motorcycle Dealer I Appliance Repair

Housewares
|Reading School II Curtain CleanersI

Finance Company Insurance Agency

II
I Used Goods I
I Laundry | Cleaning Supplies
Electric Contactors

I Bookstore ] Finance Company Ket I VGpC;e //l Krnt

r
L I I

I . - . I Social Service Agency Auto Repair

Auto Trimming II
Used Trucks
Tire Wholesaler I
Grocery Store I[ Tire Store
Furniture Factory
Auto Parts |
Auto Repair II Driving School
Auto Repair
I Auto Repair
II Auto Parts Factoryl Ma li
IRestaurant Mackubin a tackubin . . . _ . _ .

Rental Shop Medical Clinic

Motorcycle Dealer Medical Clinic Printing
Y/ J//G,/tc01*a , Dentist
K/ // MroQ/k2ry/
Auto Repair Chiropractor
[ Restaurant I
Auto Parts Law Offce
Auto Repair | Laundromat l
Cleaning Supplies | /G /
Paint Wholesaler j
Arundei V c,iyS Arundel
I Pharmacy
I l
I I Pharmacy I I

// // A tr^/ I ,I

,I

Business Service ]
Window Repair
IAuto Glass
I

Auto Parts Wholesale

Real Estate Services I ,I Restaurant
I
I

Wholesale Meat |
i Beauty Parlor MeatProcessing

Meat Processing I I

I Restaurant ]
Restaurant l Western I Restaurant ]1 OraecS/We stern
IBar j Organization

Social Service
Milk Processing Typesetting
Milk Processing
Organization
i Wholesale Electronic
Wholesale Dairy
Wholesale Foods
1 Beauty Parlor
Beauty Parlor Virginia 1 Restaurant Virginia

I Funeral Home
i Labor Union Funeral Home 1
1 l Social Service Agency
Virginia Organization Virginia

Organization | Asian Owned Organization

I LRestaurant

Farrington Farrington
Farrington Dairy Store I Farrington I Y1^*C1F/*f-1

Figure 3. Business changes along a transect of University Avenue. Source: Contacts Influential
(1981, 1991). * Additional businesses gathered from the Asian Business and Community Directory
(1994) and by Mao Vang.

What Type of Ethnic Economy? oblique on whether this constitutes the

beginning of an ethnic enclave economy.
The evidence presented here confirms The business directory data, interviews,
the rapid expansion of Indochinese-owned and observation all document that
businesses in Saint Paul but is more Indochinese business activity is spatially

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230 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

concentrated. Most, but not all, of the busi- The Indochinese ethnic economy in
ness activity is located within Saint Paul, Saint Paul has emerged without financial
and much of this is within the same inner- assets or human capital. This means that
city districts that are home to the majority group resources were critical to their early
of Indochinese residents. There is also a success. Some of these were provided
great deal of sectoral concentration. Theexternally by sponsoring organizations,
Indochinese population is overrepresentedbanks, and the municipal government; oth-
in food stores, restaurants, agriculture-ers had to be developed within the group
reflected in the business composition ofitself or came about because of group cohe-
Indochinese neighborhoods-and also insion. This reliance on group (or "ethnic")
manufacturing and education, althoughresources stands in opposition to a trend
these last two show no indication of owner- that has seen greater use of individual (or
ship. While no single piece of evidence can "class") resources (Light 1984).
determine Indochinese proprietorship and Certainly geographic concentration
co-ethnic employment, information from operates as a potent group resource here.
the SMOBE database, interviews, and theThe pitfalls bestowed by segregation have
survey of the University Avenue corridor been well documented, and certainly the
indicates that business expansion in these urban environment of Saint Paul's
locations has been a largely IndochineseIndochinese community is far from ideal in
phenomenon and that these businesses any circumstance. Yet, in this case, geo-
employ Indochinese. Still, this subecono-graphic concentration has had a salutary
my does not yet employ a majority of the effect for the emerging businesses and
population. their customers. It provides businesses
The most difficult criterion to gauge is with a captive, isolated market without the
whether Indochinese businesses are linked social or automotive means to shop outside
with other businesses. This would require a the community. But it also benefits cus-
broad list of transactions available only in a tomers who are provided with special
special survey (see Wilson and Martin goods and services from a friendly face. It
1982). There is little evidence of horizontal is no accident that these stores have
integration, since no one market has been become a coherent focus for the
cornered, although there may be some Indochinese community, doubling as soci
budding vertical linkages. To begin with, centers. Whether these businesses will
most of these stores, particularly food continue to attract a more affluent and
stores and special ethnic services, provision mobile population cannot be known. The
a mainly Indochinese market. This was ver- strong attachment of the more affluent
ified through interviews with some propri- Koreans to Koreatown shows how an area
etors and visits to some of the stores. can serve as an ethnic focus that goes
Linkages with co-ethnic wholesalers may beyond its economic role (Lee 1995a).
be the next process: at least one local sup- So what type of economy is this? The
plier, with a Chinese owner and area
a where many of these businesses
Vietnamese manager, provides food storesemerged used to be disadvantaged. While
businesses operated, the dominant note
and restaurants with special ingredients.
Most of the goods come from California,was that of dilapidation and decline, and
Illinois, and New York, albeit from while some of the pawnshops and check
Vietnamese-owned wholesalers. One cashing stores remain, they no longer sym-
bolize the economy. In some respects, this
intriguing link may be the supply of fresh
produce from farms and lots operated by be considered a traditional stepping-
might
Hmong families. These goods are market-
stone economy. Many of the businesses are
ed to the general public in farmers still
mar-quite small and unintegrated, and the
middle-class route lies more within the
kets, but also to some of the food-oriented
businesses in the community. mainstream economy. Long-standing,

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 INDOCIINESE BUSINESS
more successful Asian groups have found
economic success through education and
the pursuit of professional occupations (Tai
1993b). While such activity and opportuni-
ties could occur within an ethnic economy,
the PUMS data indicate that the
Indochinese population has yet to achieve
On a societal level, the development of
prosperity.
In some respects, the Indochinese econ-
omy in Saint Paul resembles an ethnic
enclave economy. There is a greater diver-
sification in some of the businesses, such as
automobile repair, medical offices, and
insurance. The spatial concentration of the
business community continues, with more
of a spread outward from the original core
than a dispersal. One researcher suggests
that the size of the ethnic community mat-
ters a great deal to its business success
(Evans 1989). With projected increases in
population and continued high community
involvement, additional potential may exist
to develop an economy distinct from the
mainstream. There is already evidence of
diversification; the question is whether
existing services and retail outlets will be
joined by productive facilities. Another
question has to do with the links forged by
the community itself. Many of the success-
ful ethnic economies today are tied into the
global economy in ways that were unimag-
inable a few decades back. The Chinese in
Monterey Park collaborate with Taiwanese
and Hong Kong businesses, while Cubans
and Koreans continue to look toward their
native countries and may begin to develop
joint ventures there. Could the same thing
happen with the Indochinese community?
Not at its present level of development.
But future expansion and diversification
may also be accompanied by an interest in
the burgeoning economies of Southeast
Asia.
Research on the emerging Indochinese
economy in Saint Paul carries a couple of
significant implications. In terms of policy,
the success of this Indochinese community
can furnish insights into what types of fac-
tors spur entrepreneurial activity, especial-
ly in the face of limited resources. "Self-
help" for urban communities has been a
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231
mantra for some time now, but how can it
be encouraged? Does spatial concentration
within an ethnic economy create the neces-
sary threshold of entrepreneurs, reliable
employees, and customers to spark an eth-
nic economy?
an economic niche in Saint Paul, or in any
city, may foreshadow changes in the nature
of group relations within the United States.
Economic integration traditionally has
been seen as an essential step in the overall
assimilation process. If these ethnic
economies create an environment in which
full economic assimilation is no longer req-
uisite, could this spearhead a concomitant
trend toward greater political, social, and
cultural separation? The development of
ethnic economies, while sowing the seeds
of self-reliance, could fashion an urban
economy that resembles more a composite
of subeconomies loosely tied together than
a tightly woven blend of business activities.
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