La presenza economica cinese in Lombardia e Trentino

• Main Author: Nicoletta Bressan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rosenberg & Sellier 2011-12-01
• Series: Quaderni di Sociologia
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/qds/608

In spite of the large body of research on Chinese communities, there is still mixed evidence on the role played by Chinese family and Chinese ethnic networks in determining the ethnic and local labor market access and the transition to self-employment for Chinese migrants. This article aims to extend previous research by investigating two different sectors and local contexts: the Chinese catering in Milan province and the district of porphyry in Trento province. The research, carried out through an ethnographic methodology characterized by 56 interviews on Chinese migrants, points out that the action of family and ethnic networks in permitting the access and the following experiences into each sector is more evident respect the district of porphyry than the catering sector. Previous phases of migratory process, the specific dynamics of economic contest and the opportunities created by a well-established Chinese community can influence the initial relationship among migrant and his personal network. On the contrary, the passage to self-employment is characterized by a stronger influence of familiar and parental networks, and ethnic relations, in both sectors.