Immigrant Enclaves: An Analysis of the Labor

Market Experiences of Cubans in Miami'

KennethL. Wilson
Florida AtlanticUniversity

AlejandroPortes
Duke University

Data froma longitudinal sampleof Cuban emigresare used to test

competing hypotheses about themodeof incorporation of newimmi-
grantsintotheU.S. labormarket.Classic theoriesof assimilation as-
sumeda unifiedeconomyin whichimmigrants startedat thebottom
and graduallymovedup occupationally, whiletheygainedsocial ac-
ceptance.Recentdual labor markettheoriesdefinenew immigrants
mainlyas additionsto thesecondarylabor marketlinkedwithsmall
peripheralfirms.Multivariateanalysesconfirm the existenceof the
primary/secondary dichotomy but add to it a thirdalternativecon-
dition.This is theenclaveeconomyassociatedwithimmigrant-owned
firms.Whilemostimmigrant enterprisesare small,competitiveones,
enclaveworkersshowdistinctcharacteristics, includinga significant
returnto past humancapital investments. Such a returnis absent
amongimmigrant workersin thesecondarylabormarket.Causes and
implicationsof thesefindings are discussed.

The purposeof thisstudyis to examinethe extentto whichthephenom-

enonof self-enclosedminorities generallaborprocessesin theU.S.
modifies
economy.Empiricaldata withwhichto addressthis questioncome from
a sampleof recentlyarrivedCuban emigres.
The classicsociologicalliterature
on immigrantminorities
uniformly por-
trayedthe adaptationprocessas one in whichinitialeconomichardships
and discrimination gave way to gradual acceptanceby membersof the
dominantgroupsand eventualassimilation.Withminorvariations,differ-
ent authorsidentifiedthe culminationof the processas the entranceof
immigrants,or theirdescendants, intothemainstream of the economyand
theirculturalfusionwiththe majority(Handlin 1951; Warnerand Srole
1945; Wittke1952). More recently,Gordon (1961, 1964) distinguished
1 Data on which this paper is based were collected as part of the ongoing study,
"Latin American ImmigrantMinorities in the United States," at Duke University.
Data collectionand analysis were supported by grants MH 23262-02 from the Na-
tional Instituteof Mental Health and SOC75-16151 fromthe National Science Foun-
dation,
? 1980 by The Universityof Chicago. 0002-9602/81/8602-0004$01.50

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

the ideal typesof culturalpluralismand Anglo-conformity, but still the

overriding themewas thatof blendingin and contributing to nationalwel-
fare.Thus the major goal of immigration researchwas to documentthe
barriersto assimilationconfronted by various minoritiesand to orient
policydecisionsat thenationaland local levelstowardtheirremoval.
Duringthe 1960s and in thewake of militantprotestsby urbanethnic
minorities, a new criticalliteraturearose. Spearheadedby thewritings of
black authors(Carmichaeland Hamilton1967; Malcolm X 1967), this
literaturedocumentedthe tenacityof barriersagainstentranceof blacks
and other"unmeltable"ethnicsinto the better-paid and moreprestigious
occupations.Such scholarsas RobertBlauner (1972) took up the theme
and wenton to explorethe historicalrole played by the exploitationof
thesegroupsin the development of the Americaneconomy.Borrowinga
conceptdevelopedby GonzalezCasanova (1965) in Mexico,the exploita-
tionof nonwhiteminorities was termed"internalcolonialism."
The assimilationist and internalcolonialistperspectives offereddiamet-
ricallyoppositepredictionsabout the fate of racial and ethnicminorities
in the UnitedStates.Accordingto thefirst, graduallearningof theculture
and acquisitionof occupationalskillswouldopen theway forentranceinto
"middle-class" society;accordingto theother,culturalassimilation of these
groupswas irrelevantsince theirsubjectionand exploitation in the labor
marketwerepreconditions forthe continuing growthof U.S. capitalism.
Later researchhas advancedour knowledgeof the roleof race and eth-
nicityin theAmericanclass structure. It has, by and large,confirmed the
persistenceof racial differences in status and incomeeven whencultural
skills and past individualattainmentsare taken into account (Duncan
1969; Jencks1972; Portesand Wilson1976; Gordon1971). Otherrecent
studieshave tendedto concentrate on thespecificmannerin whichblacks,
Chicanos,and otherminorities have becomeinsertedinto the U.S. labor
marketand on thehistoricalevolutionof theircondition. As a consequence,
the earlierand broaderconceptsof internalcolonialismand colonizedmi-
noritieshave becomeprogressively abandonedin favorof those of seg-
mentedclass structure and its variantsin the industrialeconomy:"split"
and dual labormarkets(Bonacich 1972; Gordon1972).
Since all theseperspectives have been concernedwithphenomenaat the
centerof theAmericanpoliticaleconomy, theyhaveneglectedotherstaking
place at the fringes but havingdefinite theoretical implications.These per-
tain to immigrant minorities whichremainspatiallyconcentrated in a par-
ticularcityor region.The distinctive characteristics of thesegroupsare that
theyare less culturallyassimilatedthan nativeethnicminorities, tend to
clingto theirlanguagesand customs,and frequently do bettereconomically
than minorities in the mainstream economy.The resilienceand economic

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

achievements of these enclavesdo not fitwell the predictionsof either

assimilation Nor,as we willsee,is theircase
theoryor internalcolonialism.
satisfactorilyexplainedby dual labor markettheories,as currently de-
veloped.
Some recentstudieshave significantly advancedour understanding of
self-enclosedimmigrant minorities.
Most of thesehave had, as empirical
base,thesituationofAsianimmigrants (Bonacich,Light,and Wong 1977;
Sung 1967). To our knowledge, however,theexistenceof an enclavelabor
marketdistinctfromthosein thegeneraleconomyand the factorsleading
immigrants to remainthusconfined have notbeen systematicallyexplored.
The purposeof the followingsectionsis twofold:first,to describethe
immigrant
historicaloriginsof a different enclave-Cuban emigresin Mi-
ami; second,to examinewhetherthe membersof an enclavelabor force
can be distinguished empiricallyfromimmigrants who have takenjobs in
the generaleconomy.Beforeproceedingto description and analysis,how-
ever,we discussrecenttheoriesof the evolutionof the U.S. economyand
the dual labor marketas an appropriateframework for the subsequent
analysis.

DUAL LABOR MARKETS AND IMMIGRATION

The Dual Economy

Analysesof the dual economy(Averitt1968; Galbraith1971) are based

on the recognitionthat monopolistictendenciesin industryare no longer
a statisticalanomalybut constituteperhapsthe definingfeatureof ad-
vanced capitalism.Monopolyfirmsare governedby principlesdifferent
fromthoseemployedto describefirmbehaviorundercompetitive condi-
tions.Averittrefersto the monopolistic sectoras the "centereconomy";
Galbraithtermsit the "industrialstate."
With attentionconcentrated on long-runstability,centerfirmstendto
gain gradualcontrolof the manycontingencies whichmake the existence
of peripheralfirmsproblematic.Centerfirmsare able to make fulluse of
economiesofscale and to structureproductiveorganizationswhichare both
geographicallydispersedand vertically
integrated.These firmshave moved
in recentyears to controltheirsourcesof supplyin technology and raw
materialsand theirmarkets.Marketcontrolis effectedthrough oligopolistic
pricingand throughthe moldingof consumertastesby mass advertising
(O'Connor 1973). To insulatethemselves furtherfrommarketcontingen-
cies, monopolyfirmsdeveloplarge cash reservesand stabilizetheirlabor
force throughtrainingprogramsand promotionalladders or "internal
markets"(Edwards 1975).

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

The notionsof dual or segmentedlabor marketswereoriginallydevel-

oped independently of thetheoryof thedual economy.These notionsbegan
inconspicuously as a seriesof empiricalobservations
about ghettoemploy-
ment(see Doeringeret al. 1969; Baron and Hymer1968; Ferman1968).
Some of the mostconsistentfindings were that thereseemedto be little
relationshipbetweeninvestment in humancapital-eitherformaleducation
or job-trainingprograms-andemployment. Therewas a remarkably high
level of job instability.For thosewho averaged35-40 hoursper week,
wageswerelow,oftenbelowthe povertyline; the disciplinein theirjobs
was oftenharshand arbitrary;thereappearedto be an absenceof ladders
to success,most jobs usually providingalmost no opportunity forpro-
motion.2
In short,centralcityjobs appearedto be cut offfromthe restof the
economicsystem.Individuals,usuallyminority members, whowerecaught
in theselabormarketshad littlehopeforescape.Thus,variousinvestigators
wereled to postulatethe existenceof a dual labor market.The primary
labor markethas thepositivecharacteristics of stability,chancesforpro-
motion,high wages, and good workingconditions,while the secondary
labor markethas the negativetraitsoutlinedabove (Wachtel1972). Gor-
don (1971) pursuedthe implications of thisdivisionand foundthat the
predominant proportionofoccupationalmobility(measuredas job changes)
was withintheselabormarketswithverylittlemobility betweenthem.
Overtime,it becameclearthatthesefindings converged withtheemerg-
ing theoryof thedual economy.The primarylabormarketcorresponds to
the centereconomy,the secondarylabor marketresidesin the periphery.
The marketpowerof monopolyfirmsenablesthemto pass on increasesin
costs to consumers and, hence,financetheadvantageousconditionof their
workers.The periphery, beingsubject to the constraints of competition,
mustmaintainlow wages,otherwisefirmsmaybe forcedintobankruptcy.
Low wages and absenceof internalladdersof promotionencouragerapid
turnoverof workers.For some economists, job instabilityis the defining
characteristicof thesecondarylabormarket(Piore 1975).
2 Doeringer and Piore (1971) add the followinghypothesis: not only does the sec-
ondary labor market possess negative characteristics;it also encourages the develop-
ment of negativepsychologicalcharacteristicsin the labor force that servicesthe sec-
ondary market.Particularly,over timethereis a gradual rapprochementbetweenpoor
workingconditionsin the secondarylabor marketand poor work habits of minority
workers,such as arrivingat work late and general task irresponsibility. The main
problemwith this hypothesisis that of separatingcontextuallabor marketeffectsfrom
those due to individual work habits. To avoid such overlap, the hypothesismust
specifypsychologicalcharacteristicsthat endure even when the worker has found a
job in the primarylabor market. Such a hypothesiswould require special data and
analysisand is beyond the scope of this paper.

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

Immigrant
Workersand EconomicDualism
The contemporary literatureon international migrationdeals primarily
withmovements sharingtwo characteristics. First,theyare displacements
of labor,that is, of individualswho migratewiththe intentionof selling
theirlaborpowerin places of destination. Second,theytendto occurfrom
less economically developedareas to economicallydevelopedcenters.Re-
cent historicalstudiesof immigration to the United States and Western
Europe have emphasizedthe increasingimportanceof immigrant labor in
thedevelopment of theseadvancedeconomies(Rosenblum1973; Burawoy
1976; Castlesand Kosack 1973; Sassen-Koob1978).
Contemporary immigration to theUnitedStateshas becomefragmented
in waysthatparallelthesituationdescribedby dual labormarkettheories.
On the one hand, immigration laws have movedtowardencouraging mi-
grationof highlyskilledforeignworkersand professionals;on the other
hand,theyhave formally barredtheless skilledfromentryintothecountry
(Keely 1979). Thus, forexample,the amended1965 Immigration Act re-
servesthe thirdand sixthpreference categoriesforprofessional, technical,
and skilledworkersin shortsupplyin thecountry.
Further,the U.S. Departmentof Labor maintainsa ScheduleA of oc-
cupationsforwhichthereis "a shortageof workerswilling,able, qualified,
and available." Individualsin theseoccupationsreceivespecial privileges
whenapplyingforan immigrant's visa. In recentyears,ScheduleA occupa-
tions have includedphysiciansand surgeons,nurses,speech therapists,
pharmacists,and dietitians.
The effect
of theseregulations has been to encouragea flowof immigra-
tiondirectedto theprimarylabormarket.Highlyqualifiedimmigrants find
employment in large-scalefirms,researchinstitutions, public and private
hospitals,universities,and the like (Stevens,Goodman,and Mick 1978).
The numericalextentof this flowis not insignificant. In 1977, 62,400
foreignprofessionals, managers, and technicians were admitted to the
UnitedStates forpermanentresidence(U.S. Bureau of the Census 1978,
p. 86).
Givenexistingregulations, it is not surprising thattheoccupationaldis-
tributionof legal immigrant cohortsin recentyears comparesfavorably
withthat of the domesticlabor force.For example,duringthe 1970s the
percentageof professionaland technicalworkersamong occupationally
activeimmigrants has consistently exceededthatin theU.S. civilianlabor
force(Portes 1978). Nor is it surprising thatstudiesfocusingon legal im-
migrationreportsignificant upward occupationalmobilityafter several
years (North 1978), absenceof discrimination in pay and workconditions
(Stevens,Goodman,and Mick 1978; North 1978), and an economicsit-
uationequal to or betterthanthatof domesticworkers(Chiswick1978).

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

On theotherhand,a numerically largerflowof immigrants is composed

of individualswithfewskillswhofindemployment in thelow-wagemenial
occupationsidentified with the secondarylabor market.Low-wagelabor
immigration bypassesoccupationalselectionproceduresof theimmigration
law throughseveralchannels.First,workersin less developedterritories
under U.S. jurisdictioncan generallytravelwithoutrestrictions to the
mainland.The most importantcase is Puerto Rican migration.Though
formallya domesticmovement, migrationfromPuertoRico has manyof
the same characteristics as international labor flowsfromThird World
countries(Maldonado 1979).
Second,an immigrant groupalreadyin theUnitedStatescan avail itself
of familyreunification provisions and otherclausesof thepresentimmigra-
tionlaw to continuethe movement fromthesourcecountry.A substantial
proportionof Asian immigration, fromcountriessuch as Korea, and of
legal Mexican immigration appears to be of this type (Bonacich 1978;
Alba-Hernandez1978).
Third,and mostimportant, illegal or undocumented immigration into
the UnitedStates currently bringsin hundredsof thousandsof low-skill
workers. Thoughno reliablefigures on themagnitudeofillegalimmigration
exist,eventhemostconservative estimatesplace it significantly
above that
of total legal immigration. Apprehensions by the U.S. Immigration and
NaturalizationService,used as a veryroughindicatorof the magnitude
of the illegalflow,exceededone millionin 1976 and again in 1977 (U.S.
Immigration and NaturalizationService1978). The mainsourceof illegal
immigration is Mexico,but increasingflowsfromthe DominicanRepublic,
the BritishCaribbean,Colombia,and CentralAmericahave also been de-
tected(Cornelius1977).
Dual labormarketwritings dealingwithrecentimmigration have focused
primarily on theflowdirectedto thesecondarylabormarket.These studies
have dealt, forexample,with the situationof PuertoRican migrantsin
Boston (Piore 1973), Korean and otherAsian immigrants on the West
Coast (Bonacich 1978), and undocumented Mexicanimmigrants through-
out the Southwestand Midwest(Barrera1977; Bustamante1975). Along
withdomesticminorities, new immigrant workersare definedas additions
to the morevulnerablelabor pool destinedto the low-wage,unstableoc-
cupationsof the peripheraleconomy.Past occupationalexperienceand
otherinvestments in humancapitalcountverylittlefortheseimmigrants
because,unlikeworkersin the primarysector,theyare hiredprimarily
becauseof theirvulnerability ratherthantheirskills(Galarza 1977; Bach
1978; Bustamante1975).
A recentpaper by Bonacich (1978) has arguedthat immigrant entre-
preneursfulfill"middleman"functionsby exploitingtheirown national
groupin theinterestof largerfirmsin thecentereconomy.Withthissole

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

exception,however,the dual labor marketliterature has not regardedim-

migrantlabor and immigrant economyactivityas phenomenadeserving
special attention.If onlyby default,thesetheoriesdefineimmigrant en-
terprisesas just one moresegmentof theperipheraleconomy.The logical
derivationfromthisperspective can be formalized as follows:
1. New immigrant workerswill concentrate in thesecondarylabor mar-
ket. Withthe exceptionof thosewho gain access to the primarysector,
immigrants willshareall the characteristicsof peripheralemployment, in-
cludinglow prestige,low income,job dissatisfaction, and the absence of
returnto past humancapital investments. The situationof workersem-
ployedby immigrant enterpriseswill not differfromthosein the larger
secondarylabormarket.
This predictionand thegeneralcharacterization of "entrapment" in the
peripheraleconomyare contradictedby the experienceof at least some
immigrant groups.The case of the Japanese(Boyd 1971; Daniels 1971;
Petersen1971) is well known,but otherstudieshave highlighted similar
experiences amongothernationalgroupssuch as the Chinese(Sung 1967;
Light 1972). For the Koreans,Bonacichnotesthe proliferation of immi-
grantbusinessesand the mobilityopportunities that theymake available
(Bonacich,Light,and Wong 1977).
It shouldbe notedalso thatthesituationof theseminorities is not ade-
quatelyportrayed by aggregatestudiesof legalimmigration. As seenabove,
thepositivecharacterizationof immigrant mobility in thesestudiesis based
largelyon the arrivalof professional, managerial,and skilledtalenten-
couragedby currentimmigration provisions.The aggregatestatisticsre-
flectinsertionof theseimmigrants intotheprimarylabormarket,but they
failto capturethedistinctphenomenon of immigrant enclaves.
For theselast groups,it appears that althoughnew arrivalsare forced
to workhard forlow wages,theydo not findupwardmobilitychannels
blocked.Many immigrants manageto moveup eitherwithinexistingen-
terprisesor by settingup new businesses.A chartedpath seemsto exist
in severalof theseinstancesleadingfromhardlaborin thefirmof another
immigrant to gradualpromotionculminating in anotherbusinessconcern.
Some social psychologicalexplanationshave been advancedfortheeco-
nomic success of some immigrantminorities(Hagen 1962; Kurokawa
1970; Eisenstadt1970). A more compellingstructuralreason,however,
appears to be the existenceof advantagesforenclave enterprises which
thosein theopencompetitive sectordo nothave. Put succinctly, immigrant
enterprises mightmanageto createa workableformof verticalintegration
by developingethnicallysympathetic sourcesof supplyand consumerout-
lets. They can organizeunorthodoxbut effective formsof financialand
humancapital reservesby poolingsavingsand requiringnew immigrants
to spell a tourof duty at the worstjobs. These advantagesmay enable

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

enclavefirmsto reproduce,albeit imperfectly, some of the characteristics

of monopolisticcontrolaccountingfor the success of enterprises in the
centereconomy.
A necessaryconditionforthe emergenceof an economicenclaveis the
presenceof immigrants withsufficient capital. Capital mightbe brought
fromtheoriginalcountry,as is oftenthecase withpoliticalexiles (Fagen,
Brody,and O'Leary 1968), or accumulatedthroughsavings.Individuals
withtherequisiteentrepreneurial skillsmightbe drawnintotheimmigrant
flowto escape economicand politicalconditionsin the sourcecountryor
to profitby theopportunities offeredby a preexisting immigrant "colony"
abroad.
Althoughthe data presentedbelowdo not permitdirectanalysisof im-
migrantfirms,they allow a test of an importantadditionalhypothesis,
whichdirectlycontradicts conventional predictions as statedin hypothesis
1:
2. Immigrant workersare not restrictedto the secondarylabor market.
In particular,thoseinsertedintoan immigrant enclavecan be empirically
distinguishedfromworkersin boththeprimaryand secondarylabor mar-
kets.Enclave workerswill share withthosein the primarysectora sig-
nicanteconomicreturnto past humancapital investments. Such a return
willbe absentamongthosein the"open" secondarylabor market.
A reviewof the recenthistoryof Cuban immigration and the develop-
mentof the Cuban enclavein Miami is presentednextas an introduction
to theempiricalanalysis.

CUBAN IMMIGRATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF

THE CUBAN ENCLAVE
The immigrant flowgivingriseto theCuban enclavein Miamihas political
ratherthan economicroots. Massive Cuban immigration to the United
States began withthe adventof Fidel Castro to powerin January1959.
The firstemigres,membersof the overthrown Batista regime,represented
a small minority.As the revolution
consolidated,however,it began to im-
plementa populistprogramcontrary to theinterest
of thedominantclasses.
Immigrationincreasedas landowners,industrialists, and formerCuban
managersof U.S.-ownedenterprises left.Othersleftin anticipation of new
measuresas the revolutionacceleratedthe transformation of the Cuban
class structure;many came to Miami to organizea militaryforcewith
whichto overthrowthe Castro government. From mid-1959to October
1960, approximately 37,000 emigrescame, mostof themwell to do and
many bringingto the United States considerableassets (Thomas and
Huyck 1967).
Afterthe defeatof theexile forcein the Bay of Pigs in April1961,the

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

flowof refugeesacceleratedfurther and its compositionbeganto diversify,

reachingdownto themiddleclassesand evensectorsof theurbanworking
class (Clark 1977). By the end of 1962, officialfiguresreported215,323
Cuban emigresin theUnitedStates.
To processthis massiveflow,the Kennedyadministration established
theCuban RefugeeProgram(CRP) underthesecretary of Health,Educa-
tion,and Welfare.The arrivalof Cuban refugeesin Miami was viewed
at thetimeas a sourceof strainaggravating thedepressedeconomyof the
area. Thus, efforts of the Cuban RefugeeEmergencyCenter,established
by the CRP in Miami,concentrated on relocatingthe emigresthroughout
communities in the United States. Cuban lawyerswere transformed into
languageteachersand sentto highschoolsand collegesin the North.Oth-
ers foundwidelyvaried occupations,oftenwith the supportof private
charityorganizations. To insurethat relocationproceededsmoothly,the
centermade emergency welfareaid contingent on acceptanceof job offers
whenavailable. By 1967, 251,000 Cuban emigreshad registered withthe
CRP, and 153,000 had been relocatedaway from Miami. The programwas
in
widelyregarded federalcircles as a completesuccess (Thomas and
Huyck 1967).
Withmanyups and downs,whichincludedtheestablishment of a "fam-
ily reunification"airliftby agreementof the two governments, the inflow
of Cuban emigrescontinuedduringthe nextdecade. At the end of 1976,
officialfiguresfor Cuban refugeearrivalsin the United States totaled
661,934 (U.S. Immigration and NaturalizationService1977). Duringthis
entireperiod,the relocationprogramconductedby the Cuban Refugee
Centercontinued.By the early 1970s,therewas evidence,however,of a
significantreturnmigrationto Miami. In 1973, a surveyestimatedthat
over 25% of Cubans residingin Miami were returneesfromotherU.S.
locations(Clark 1973). The proportion at presentshouldbe, if anything,
higher.
Culturaland climaticreasonshave obviouslymuch to do withreturn
decisions.Moreimportant, however, thereis evidencethatrelocatedemigres
used theirperiodin northern areas muchas othermigrants have used their
stay in high-wageindustrialregions:as an opportunity foraccumulating
capital. Small-scaleinvestments by returneesfromthe Northwereadded
to thosemadewithcapitalbroughtfromCuba to consolidatean immigrant
economicenclave.
Cuban-ownedenterprises in the Miami area increasedfrom919 in 1967
to about 8,000 in 1976. Whilemostof themare smallscale, someemploy
hundredsof workers.Enclave firmstendto concentrate on textiles,
leather,
furniture,cigar making,construction, and finance.An estimated40% of
theconstruction companiesare Cuban owned,and emigrescontrolroughly
20% of the local commercial banks (Time 1978; Clark 1977). There are

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

also someinvestments especiallysugarcane plantationsand

in agriculture,
sugar mills.
Enclave firmsin the servicesectorincluderestaurants(a favoritein-
vestmentfor small entrepreneurs), supermarkets, private clinics,legal
firms, funeralparlors,and privateschools.In 1976,thepopulationof Span-
ish originin Dade County(Miami) was estimatedat 488,500or 33% of
the total. About82% of thispopulationis Cuban. Over halfof the pop-
ulationin themunicipalities of Miamiand Hialeah is Cuban (Clark 1977).
Numericalconcentration and diversityof economicactivitiesallow many
immigrants almostcompletelyto the enclave.This
to lead lives restricted
is especiallytrueamongthoseemployedin Cuban-owned firms.
More important,newlyarrivedemigresin Miami have an option of
economicincorporation not available to otherimmigrant minorities.It re-
mainsto be seen,however, whethertheirparticipationin theenclaveecon-
omy possessesempiricallydistinctcharacteristics or whethercompetitive
immigrant-owned enterprises merelyreproducethoselabor processesasso-
ciatedwiththebroaderperipheraleconomy.

METHOD

Data Collection

Data forthisstudycomefroma sampleof Cuban immigrants interviewed

at the point of arrivalin the United States duringthe fall of 1973 and
springof 1974. The sample was reinterviewed threeyears later during
1976-77. Unlike more establishedgroupsof emigres,recentimmigrants
usuallylack thecapitalto go intobusinessby themselves and,hence,must
join the labor market.They are employedby firmsin the primaryand
secondarymarketsas wellas by enclaveenterprises. It is thischaracteristic
whichmakesthe samplesuitablefortestingthe hypothesesabove. In all,
590 new immigrants wereinterviewed duringthe originalsurvey.All had
arrivedin theUnitedStatesvia Miami and had stayedin thatcity.
The firstsurveymet withconsiderableinitialobstacles.The two daily
flightsor "airlifts"betweenCuba and Miami had been suspendedjust
beforethe beginning of data collection,thusclosingthe onlymajorsource
of new immigrants. WhileCubans continuedto leave via Spain,fewcould
cometo the UnitedStatessincetheyrequireda permanent resident'svisa.
In October1973,however,Secretaryof StateKissingersignedan executive
resolutionauthorizingCuban exilesin Spain to come to the UnitedStates
as parolees.Flightswere organizedto transportthosewishingto come.
These "family reunion" flightshad Miami as their major point of
destination.

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

Throughthe cooperationof agenciesorganizingtheseflights, newlyar-

rivedemigreswere contactedand interviewed at theirplace of residence.
No availabledata on thepopulationof Cuban emigresexistagainstwhich
to comparesampleresults.The U.S. Immigration Servicedata on Cuban
immigrants pertainto thosewhoadjustedtheirstatusto thatofpermanent
residents.It takes a minimum of two yearsbeforenew emigrescan effect
this adjustment.Hence, officialfiguresfor "new" Cuban immigrants do
notpertainto thosewhoactuallyarrivein thecountryduringa givenyear.
Excludingrefusals(6%), the sample is, however,coterminous with the
universeof exiles duringthe surveyperiodsince mostnew arrivalswere
contacted.
The originalsamplewas limitedto malesaged 18-60 and notdependent
on others.This excludeswomen,children,and the aged. Restriction of the
sample to males in the productiveages was dictatedby the manycom-
plexitiesof an exploratorystudyand theimpossibility of dealingadequate-
ly with all categoriesof immigrants. Prioritywas givento familyheads
and economicallyindependentindividualswho,in this immigrant group,
are overwhelmingly adultmales.
In 1976-77,threeyearsafterthefirstsurvey,a follow-up was conducted.
Difficultiesof tracingrespondents are well knownand have been the sub-
ject of a growingmethodological literature(Eckland 1968; McAllister,
Butler,and Goe 1973). Difficulties werecompoundedin thiscase by the
uniquecharacteristics of the sample.On thebasis of a seriesof fieldtech-
niques and the efforts of a numberof people, a total of 427 cases were
locatedand reinterviewed. This represents 72% of the originalsampleor
76% if respondents who died or left the United States are discounted.
Practicallyall follow-uprespondents had stayedin Miami.
A high attritionrate presentsa seriouschallengeto any attemptto
correlateU.S. experienceswith the characteristics of the originalsample
as a whole.We assessed the extentof thisbias by comparingmeans for
the originaland follow-upsamples and correlatinga "Missing" dummy
variablewith a seriesof first-wave variables.FollowingAstinand Panos
(1969), we also enteredmajorfirst-wave predictors of incomeintoa step-
wiseprocedurewith"Missing"as the dependentvariable.
None of theseresultsindicatethepresenceof a significant bias. Table 1
presentscorrelation and regression coefficientslinkingfirst-wave predictors
with"Missing."Not a singlecorrelation differssignificantly fromzero.All
,B weightsare small, and the joint amountof varianceexplainedin the
"Missing"variableis 2%. While it is still an inferential leap to assume
the absence of bias among second-wavevariables,these resultsprovide
some assuranceabout the validityof generalizing the findings to theorig-
inal sample.We interpret resultsaccordingly.

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

TABLE 1
CORRELATIONS AND REGRESSIONS OF FIRST-WAVE VARIABLES
WITH SECOND-WAVE ATTRITION VARIABLE,
CUBAN IMMIGRANTS (1973-77)

"MISSING"

INDEPENDENT
VARTABLES r
7

Father's occupation .................. - . 081 - .093

Father's education .................... 0 .066
Mother's education ................... - .023 - .019
Size-place ofearly community ofresidence -.055 -.045
Age ........................ .... .097 .084
Education ........................... - .024 - .029
Main occupation at arrival ........... . -.014 -.007
Knowledge of English at arrival ........ .015 .055
Income aspirations at arrival .......... . .037 .041
2 ..... . ......................... ... .022

NOTE.-For dependent variable: missing = 1, nonmissing = 0.

Data Analysis
The ensuinganalysisis conductedin twoparts.First,we assess theextent
to whicha rangeof variablesdifferentiates immigrants in the threelabor
markets:primary,secondary,and enclave.The set of variablesselected
forthisanalysispertainsto theworksituationand the qualityof lifethe
immigrant has experienced in theUnitedStates.Accordingto thetheoreti-
cal discussionabove, we expectto findsystematicdifferences in occupa-
tional prestige,economicstability,occupationaland incomesatisfaction,
perception and experiences ofdiscrimination,interaction
withAnglo-Ameri-
cans, and otherrelatedvariablesbetweenimmigrants employedin center
and peripheralfirms.If hypothesis2 holds,we would also expectenclave
workersto emergeas an empirically distinctgroup,but approachingsome
of thecharacteristics of workersin theprimarysector.
For thispart of the analysis,we employdiscriminant analysis(Van de
Geer 1971, pp. 243-72; Klecka 1975). Discriminantanalysisallows the
specificationof a nominalreference variablewhichis used to extractwhat-
ever significant discriminantfunctionsexistin a set of independent vari-
ables. The maximumnumberof functions is one fewerthanthenumberof
subpopulations. If fewerthan the maximumpossiblenumberof discrimi-
nant functionsare significant, then some of the subpopulationsare not
empirically distinguishablefromeach other,at least in regardto thevari-
ables includedin theanalysis.
Second,we examineprocessesof occupationaland incomeattainment
withineach labor market.Independentvariables for this analysis are

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

thoseconventionally includedin humancapitaland status-attainment mod-

els of income(Mincer 1970; Sewelland Hauser 1975), plus thoserepre-
sentingskillsspecifically relevantto immigrant populations.If hypothesis
2 holds,immigrants in the secondarylabor marketwill showthe least re-
turnto priorattainments and humancapital,whilethosein the primary
and enclavelabor marketswill exhibitsimilar,and higher,levelsof return
fortheirpast investments. Differentprocessesof attainmentwill be re-
flectedin significant variationsin metricregression coefficientsacrossthe
threelabormarkets.
The majorproblemforthetwopartsof theanalysisis theestablishment
of criteriaforassignment of immigrants to one or anotherlabor market.
Identificationof thosein the enclaveis the moststraightforward. All im-
migrantsindicatingemployment in firmsownedby Cubans wereassigned
to the enclave.A totalof 143 cases, or 33% of the follow-up sample,were
classifiedas enclaveworkers.
The divisionof therestof thesampleintoprimaryand secondarysector
is moreproblematic. Economistshave used as criteriaboththe structural
characteristicsof occupationsand industriesand the demographic charac-
teristicsof theirrespectiveworkers(Edwards 1975). Since part of our
purposeis to testfordifferences in thecharacteristics of immigrant work-
ers,we have used onlythefirsttypeofcriteriaforourdefinition ofprimary
and secondarysectors.Threecriteriawereemployed:(1) The presenceof
an "internallabor market"or promotionalladder withinthe industry
(Doeringerand Piore 1971); particularly, occupation/industry classifica-
tionswhereinat least 25% of theworkers had "considerable"opportunities
foradvancement wereconsideredas candidatesfortheprimarylabormar-
ket (formoredetailedinformation on thiscriterion see Freedman[1976],
appendixC). (2) The median establishment size: occupation/industry
classificationswithinwhichmorethan 10% of theworkerswereemployed
in firmswithmorethan 1,000 workerswere candidatesforthe primary
labor market.(3) Occupation/industry classificationswithaveragewages
higherthan$6,000per yearwerecandidatesfortheprimarylabormarket.
Only those occupation/industry categoriesthat werehigh on all three
criteriawere classifiedin the primarylabor market.In the generalU.S.
population,this classification would resultin 54% of the workersbeing
assignedto theprimarylabormarket(Freedman1976,p. 21). In our im-
migrantsample,the corresponding figureis 36% of the follow-up sample.
These criteriarepresentnecessaryapproximations to the primary/sec-
ondarydivision.Giventhe characteristics of the labor marketin Miami,
an area dominatedby tourismand small industry(Fagen, Brody,and
O'Leary 1968), the likelydirectionof bias is towardassignmentto the
primarysectorof immigrants actuallyemployedin competitive enterprises.

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

sinceit wouldattenuateactualdif-
The effectof thiserroris conservative,
ferencesacross labor markets,thus reducingthe chances for statistical
differences.

RESULTS

1. We firsttestthehypothesis thatimmigrants in thedual and enclavelabor

marketscan be empirically distinguished on the basis of theirexperiences
and socioeconomic situationin the UnitedStates. For thisanalysis,a set
of the 12 mostpertinent independent variableswas selected.Four of these
are objectiveindicators:presentoccupationalprestige,measuredin Dun-
can SEI scores;homeownership, an indirectmeasureofeconomicstability;
numberof relativeslivingin the UnitedStates; and objectiveinformation
about U.S. society.The fourthis a compositeindexformedby the unit-
weightedsum of six itemsmeasuringknowledgeof politicaland economic
facts.Factoranalysisindicateda clearunidimensional structure and a high
levelofinternalconsistency.3
The restof the variablesare subjectiveindicatorsmeasuringsuch atti-
tudesas incomesatisfaction, desireto changeoccupations,desireto return
to Cuba, and willingnessto come to the United States if the experience
had to be repeated.Three additionalsubjectivevariablesare self-reports:
opportunities forrelatingwithAnglo-Americans, perceiveddiscrimination
againstCubansin the UnitedStates,and personalexperiences of discrimi-
nation.In the subsequentanalysis,all variablesare coded in agreement
with theirlabels. Variable means and standarddeviationsare presented
in theAppendix.
Resultsof thisanalysisare presentedin table 2. Includedare standard-
ized discriminantfunction relativepercentagesforeach eigen-
coefficients,
value, canonicalcorrelations,and groupcentroids.Wilks's X's have been
transformed intoX2sand probability levelsare also presented.The analysis
yieldstwosignificant discriminantfunctions. Canonicalcorrelations in each
case representthe associationbetweenthe discriminant functionand the
m - 1 set of dummyvariablesrepresenting the m different subgroups.
Canonicalcoefficients forboth are modest but not insignificant.

3The U.S. informationindex is constructedby the sum of correct responses to six

factual questions: (1) name of the currentvice-presidentof the United States, (2)
name of the governorof the state, (3) knowledgeof the meaning of social security,
(4) knowledge of the effectof home mortgageintereston personal income tax, (5)
knowledgeof the annual interestrate charged by common creditcards (e.g., "Master
Charge"), and (6) knowledgeof the approximateinterestrates charged by commer-
cial banks on personal loans. These items were enteredinto a principal components
factor analysis. All loadings exceed .45 and the firstfactorexplains 65% of the com-
mon variance. Successive factorsproduce eigenvalueslower than 1.0. Internal consis-
tency,as measuredby Cronbach's a, is .691.

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

TABLE 2
DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF CUBAN
IMMIGRANTS IN THREE LABOR MARKETS

First Second
Variables Function Function

Occupationalprestige................... .14 - .27

Home ownership........... ............ .22 -.13
Relatives in United States (N) ...... ..... .31 . 13
Informationabout U.S. society...... ..... .02 -.32
Income satisfaction..... .............. --.07 -. 57
Desire to change occupations............ -.40 -.12
Plans to move to anothercountry ........ .02 -.35
Would not come to United States if he had
to do it over... .10 .25
Would return to Cuba if things changed
there................................ .27 -.04
OpportunitiesforrelatingwithAnglos. . . -.70 -.02
Perceived discriminationagainst Cubans in
United States........................ .33 .07
Personal experiencesof discrimination..... .13 -.55

Eigenvalue-relativepercentage...... ..... 60.8 39.2

Canonical correlation........ ........... .38 .32
x2 ................................ 90.00 36.00
P < ................................... 0 0

Group centroids:
" Enclave"............................. .49 -.02
Primarylabor market........ ......... -.32 -.30
Secondarylabor market....... ........ -.25 .52

The natureof the two discriminant functionscan be gleanedfromthe

standardizedcoefficients.
Disregardingsignsforthe moment,the firstand
most importantfunctionis definedby opportunitiesfor relatingwith
Anglos,desire to change occupations,perceiveddiscrimination against
Cubans,and numberof relativeslivingin the UnitedStates.The second
discriminant functionis definedby incomesatisfaction, personalexperi-
ences of discrimination,plans to move to anothercountry,information
about U.S. society,and occupationalprestige.
The mostimportantresults,however,are the groupcentroids,forthey
bear directlyon thehypothesesabove. These are theaveragediscriminant
scoresforeach groupon the two functions. The significantx2 forthefirst
functionis mostlydue to distancein the reducedfunctionspace between
the enclavegroupand the othertwo. In otherwords,immigrants in the
primaryand secondarymarketsare undistinguishable in thisfunction,but
both are empiricallydistinctfrom immigrants in the enclave.This result
clearlysupportshypothesis2 and disconfirms theviewof enclaveworkers
as onlyone segmentof the secondarysector.
Lookingnowat thedirection enclavemembership
of coefficients, appears
associatedwithmorerelativeslivingin theUnitedStates,lesseropportuni-

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

ties forrelatingwithAnglo-Americans, and strongerinclinations to return

to Cuba if politicalconditionswere to change.These resultsappear pre-
dictable.Less predictable, perhaps,membership in the enclaveeconomyis
also linkedwith lesserinterestin changingoccupationsand withhigher
perceptions of discrimination againstCubans in the UnitedStates.
The seconddiscriminant functionrearrangesthe groupsdifferently. In
this case, the significantdifference in the reducedfunctionspace is that
betweenthe enclave and primarysector,on the one hand, and the sec-
ondarysector,on theother.The difference betweenthe firsttwogroupsis
insignificant.Thus, in this seconddimension, whichis closelydefinedby
variablesreflecting occupationaland economicconditions,immigrants in
the enclaveare nearerthosein theprimarysector.This resultagain sup-
portshypothesis 2. Predictably,membership in thesecondarylabormarket
is associatedwithlesserincomesatisfaction, lesseroccupationalprestige,
lesserinformation about U.S. society,and less willingness to come to the
UnitedStatesif thedecisionhad to be takenagain. Surprisingly, however,
secondarysectormembership is also relatedto lesserreportedexperiences
of discrimination in the UnitedStates.4
Taken as a whole,thesefindings challengethe view thatworkerscon-
finedto an immigrant enclavesharein the disadvantagesof thosein the
secondarylabormarketand are undistinguishable fromthelatter.The vari-
ables availablein thesedata at least suggestthattheexperiences and eco-
nomicsituationof immigrants can separatethosein the enclaveeconomy
fromthosein the "open" labor marketalong a major axis and bringto-
getherenclaveand primaryworkers, in oppositionto thosein thesecondary
labor market,along a second.5
2. Having establishedsystematic differencesin termsof currentexperi-
ences and situationsamong the threelabor markets,we must examine
whetherthe economiceffectsof backgroundvariables,in particular,past
investments in humancapital,also differacrossthem.In thispart of the
analysis,we comparethe effectsof predictorsconventionally includedin

4 A possibleexplanationis thatthelow positionsoccupiedby secondary sectorwork-

ers shieldthemfromconfronting barriersin the dominantsocietywhichare experi-
encedby immigrants in higher-status
occupations,especiallythosein thecenterecon-
omy.
5 Another way to displaytheseresultsis withregression analysis,whichhas thead-
vantageof beingmorereadilyunderstood. Unfortunately,regressionanalysisis not
suitableforour purposesat thisstage.It affords no easyway to assesstheempirical
amongthreecategories
distinctiveness of a nominalvariablewithreference to a list
of dependent variables.However,in orderto geta roughassessment of thecompara-
bilityof our findingswithregression results,we turnedour hypotheses aroundand
estimated themultiplecorrelationsbetweenthelist of variablesas independent vari-
ablesand thethreelabormarkets as threedummydependent variables.The multiple
rangefrom.28 to .37 and are roughly
correlations similarto thecanonicalcorrelations
we reportforthediscriminant analysis.

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

humancapital and status-attainment modelson threedependentvariables

in each labor market.These dependentvariablesare principaloccupation
in Cuba, presentoccupationin the UnitedStates,and presentincome.In-
dependentvariablesincludefather'sand mother'seducation,father'soc-
cupation,respondent'seducationin Cuba, educationsince arrivalin the
UnitedStates,and age. Occupationalvariablesare codedin Duncan's SEI
scores,educationin Cuba is coded in yearscompletedand in the United
Statesin completedmonths, and incomeis therespondent's presentmonthly
earningsin dollars.
In addition,we includeas predictorstwovariablesnot generallyfound
in humancapital modelsbut indicativeof importantskillsfornewlyar-
rivedimmigrants. One is the indexof information about U.S. societyde-
scribedabove.The otheris an objectivetestof knowledgeof English.This
is an indexconstructed by thesumof correctanswersto eightitems,each
askingthe respondentto translatea wordor sentencefromEnglishinto
Spanish. As with the U.S. information index,the knowledge-of-English
indexwas constructed afterfactoranalysishad indicateda clearunidimen-
sional structureand highreliability.6
All parentalvariables,education,principaloccupationin Cuba, and age
were measuredduringthe firstinterview.All othervariables,including
itemsin theinformation and knowledge-of-English indices,weremeasured
duringthe second. Income is regressedon independentvariablesin its
naturalformsinceskewnessin thedistribution does notjustifya log trans-
formation. Conclusionswould not be alteredby such transformation, but
it wouldobscurethe substantiveinterpretation of coefficients.Means and
standarddeviationsof all the variablesare presentedin the Appendix.
Regressionsof incomeand occupationon independent variablesare pre-
sentedin table 3. Figuresin the table are metriccoefficients;thosewhich
meet the standardcriterionof exceedingtwicetheirstandarderrorsare
enclosedin parentheses.If hypothesis1 is correct,thepatternof regression
resultsforimmigrants in enclavefirmsshouldbe similarto thatof immi-
grantsin the secondarysector.For bothgroups,effectsof humancapital
and past attainments on occupationand incomeshould be significantly
weakerthan amongimmigrants in the primarysector.If hypothesis2 is
correct,on the otherhand,enclaveand primarysectorworkersshouldbe
similarand registergreaterreturnsto theirpast attainment and skillsthan
thosein peripheralfirms.
In additionto presentoccupationand income,we have includedoccu-
6 The test is designed to measure English comprehensionat elementaryand junior
high school levels and includes sentenceslike "There is a horse near the church" and
words like "guilt" and "surplus." All item loadings exceed .65 in a principal compo-
nents factor analysis. The firstunrotatedfactor accounts for 70% of common vari-
ance, with no secondary factor having an eigenvalue of 1.0 or higher.Internal con-
sistency(a) for thisindex is .94.

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

pationin Cuba as a dependentvariableto checkthe possibilitythatcon-

temporary differences across labor marketsare not a resultof structural
marketcharacteristics in the United States but of individualtraits.It is
conceivablethat systematicdifferences in the causal relationships among
variablespredatedthe arrivalof immigrants in the UnitedStatesand ac-
count forthosefoundat present.This would run contraryto dual labor
markettheory,accordingto whichsuch differences are due to structural
characteristics of the firmswhereimmigrants becomeemployed.
Results in table 3 show a fundamental similarityin determinants of
principaloccupationin Cuba acrossthethreelabormarkets.Whilemodest
reliableeffectsare associatedwithage in one subsampleand father'sed-
ucationin another,themajordeterminant of occupationin all threegroups
is education.Each year of completededucationyieldsa reliablegain of
roughlythreeSEI prestigepointsin each subsample.These coefficients are
so strongthattheyquadrupletheirrespectivestandarderrorsin all three
groups.
Althoughin Cuba educationresultedin a clear occupationalreturnfor
all immigrants, the same is not truein the UnitedStates.Educationhas
sizablepositiveeffects on presentoccupationforimmigrants in theprimary
and enclavelabor marketsbut not forthosein the secondarysector.In
termsof the overall patternof results,past individualattainmentand
backgroundvariablesexplainroughlyone-third of the varianceof present
occupationin the primaryand enclavesubsamplesbut only one-fifth in
the secondarysample.The latterfigureis due onlyto theinertialeffect of
principaloccupationin Cuba on presentoccupation.These resultslend
clear supportto relationships predictedby hypothesis2.
Strongerevidenceagainstthe definition of enclaveenterprises as an ex-
tensionof the peripheraleconomyis providedby the regressions of in-
come. Only two individualattainmentvariables-presentoccupationand
the index of information about U.S. society-have significant effectson
income.These effects, however,are quite strongand theyare limitedto
the primaryand enclave subsamples.Net of othervariables,each addi-
tionalpointofoccupationalprestigerepresents a reliablegainofover$3.00
per monthin both subsamples.More important, each unit changein the
six-pointinformation indexyieldsa net gain of $47 per monthin thepri-
marysectorand $52 in the enclave.Metriccoefficients corresponding to
information about the UnitedStatestripletheirrespectivestandarderrors
in both subsamples.In contrast,not a singlesignificant effectof past at-
tainmentor humancapitalindicatorson incomeis foundin the secondary
labormarket.Whiletotalexplainedincomevarianceis modestin all cases,
thefigureforthesecondarysubsampleis thelowest.
These resultsreinforce thosein the firstpartof theanalysisin showing
the similarity of immigrant workersemployedin centerand enclavefirms

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

and theircommonand systematicdifferences fromthoseconfinedto the

peripheralsector.Taken as a whole, these findingssupportdual labor
marketpredictions concerning yieldof humancapitalinvest-
the different
mentsin differentsectorsof the economybut correcttheirroutineassign-
mentof immigrant workersto the secondarylabor market.For Cuban
immigrantsat least, the payoffof education,occupationalstatus,and
objectiveinformationappears as greatamongthoseemployedin enclave
enterprisesas forthoseworkingin themainstream centereconomy.

CONCLUSION
The data analysis above has shown the impossibility of automatically
mergingenclave workersinto the peripheraleconomyand the fact that
theyreproduce,in a numberof ways, the characteristics of thosein the
primarylabor market.Strictlyspeaking,theseresultscannotbe general-
ized beyondthe universeof Cuban emigresfromwhichtheyweredrawn.
Nonetheless,althoughthe Cuban politicalexodusclearlypossessesmany
unique characteristics, these resultsare in generalagreementwith past
qualitativeand historicalanalyses of otherimmigrant groups.The sig-
nificance of our findingsis thattheyprovide,forthefirsttime,quantitative
evidenceof the empiricaldistinctness of an enclavelabor forceand the
limitationof dual labor markettheoriesforunderstanding its character.
Additionalresearchis required,however,to test the possibilityof gen-
eralizingtheseresultsto otherimmigrant minorities.
The literature availablein thisarea seemsto agreethatthedevelopment
of immigrant enclavesrequirestwo conditions:first,the presenceof im-
migrantswithsufficient capital and initialentrepreneurial skills; second,
the renewalof the enclave labor forcethroughsustainedimmigration
(Sung 1967; Bonacich,Light,and Wong 1977). Our hypothesisthat the
findingsabove can be replicatedforotherimmigrant minorities is based
on thefactthattheseconditionsare not uniqueto theCuban case, nordo
they appear to requirethe unique circumstances of a political exodus.
Otherchartedpaths seem to existthroughwhichotherimmigrant groups
have fulfilled them,as the case of the Japaneseand the morerecentone
of the Koreansindicate.
Future researchin this area must considernot only the situationof
individualworkersbut also the structuralcharacteristics of immigrant
enterprises.Such research would help elucidate a contradiction in the
existingliterature.On the one hand,the economic successof such groups
as the Japanese,the Cuban, and the Korean has been notedrepeatedly;
on theother,the exploitation whichimmigrant workerssuffer at thehand
of immigrant entrepreneurs has beenstressed.
Bonacich(1973, 1978), forexample,analyzeswithinsightthe functions

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 Labor Experiencesof Cubans

thatimmigrant entrepreneurs playwithrespectto largerfirmsin thecenter

economy.As "middlemanminorities," theyenacteconomicdirectivesfrom
above and channelupwardprofitsextractedfromthe exploitation of their
respectivegroups.Enclave entrepreneurs can help cheapenlabor costsfor
largerfirmsby the exploitationof the morevulnerableimmigrant labor
force.This mighttake the formof eitherintermediate inputproduction
forlargerenterprises or a modern"put-out"systemin whichfinished con-
sumergoods,such as clothing,are producedin the enclaveundercontract
forlargermanufacturers.
Thoughspeculativeat thispoint,we hypothesize thatthe contradiction
betweenthe imageof successand the imageof exploitationof immigrant
enclavesis moreapparentthanreal. The line of reasoningpursuedin the
foregoing analysissuggeststhatthe low-wagelabor of immigrant workers
is what permitssurvivaland expansionof enclave enterprises which,in
turn,opennewopportunities foreconomicadvancement.
Immigrant entrepreneurs makeuse of languageand culturalbarriersand
of ethnicaffinities to gain privilegedaccess to marketsand sourcesof
labor. These conditionsmightgive theman edge over similarperipheral
firmsin the open economy.The necessarycounterpart to theseethnicties
of solidarityis theprincipleof ethnicpreference in hiringand of support
of otherimmigrants in theireconomicventures.
The economicexpansionof an immigrant enclave,combinedwith the
reciprocalobligationsattachedto a commonethnicity, createsnewmobility
opportunities forimmigrant workersand permitsutilizationof theirpast
investments in humancapital. Not incidentally, such opportunities may
help explainwhy many immigrants choose to stay in or returnto the
enclave,forgoing highershort-term gainsin the open economy.
Additionalresearchis requiredto test this interpretation and examine
possibledifferences acrossimmigrant groups.At thispoint,we note only
that this interpretation is in line with the resultsabove insofaras they
indicatethat enclave workersare not betteroffinitially,but that they
are subsequently rewardedforskillsand pastinvestments in humancapital.
Findingspresentedin thispaper reintroduce a topicnot adequatelyac-
countedforby theoriesof immigrant assimilationor internalcolonialism,
or by recentwritings on the dual economyand dual labormarkets.While
oftendescribedin journalisticand qualitativeterms,the phenomenon of
immigrant enclavesand its theoretical implicationshave not receivedsuf-
ficientattentionin the sociologicalliterature. The resultspresentedabove
raise perhapsmorequestionsthantheyanswer.Still,the remarkable geo-
graphicconcentration of this sampleand the differences detectedforim-
migrantsemployedin center,peripheral,and enclaveenterprises suggest
the significance of the phenomenon and the need foradditionalresearch
on thetopic.

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 AmericanJournalof Sociology

APPENDIX
VARIABLEMEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS

Variable Mean SD

Father's occupation(SEI scores).28.51 20.38

Father's education(years).6.10 3.21
Mother's education(years).5.59 2.45
Education in Cuba (years).8.57 3.67
Education in United States (months).2.99 5.89
Knowledgeof English (correctanswers). 269 2.74
Informationabout U.S. society(correctanswers).3.26 1.76
Age (years) 42.20 7.64
Occupation inCuba (SEI
scores) .39.76 24.46
Presentoccupation(SEI scores).30.58 21.48
Presentincome(dollarsper month).647.05 293.71
Home ownership(yes = 1, no = 0) ..14 .35
Relatives in United States (N). 4.39 5.26
Income satisfaction(low = 1 to high = 3).2.09 .96
Plans to move to anothercountry(yes = 1, no = 0) .05 .22
Would not come to the United States ifhe had to do it over
(yes = 1, no = 0) ..04 .20
Would returnto Cuba if thingschanged(yes = 1, no = 0) .72 .45
Opportunitiesfor relatingwith Anglos (very few = 1 to
many= 4).1.40 1.02
Perceiveddiscrimination against Cubans (yes = 1, no = 0) .30 .46
Personal experiencesof discrimination(never = 0 to fre-
quently= 3) ..76 .96

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