Grid-group analysis, social capital, and entrepreneurship among North American ethnic groups

A prevailing hypothesis among social scientists is that a high degree of social capital within immigrant groups promotes the development of self-employment, particularly in the first generation of immigrants. The authors identify social capital with high group placement in grid-group analysis for which they have produced new codes suitable for use with secondary data. Using the Electronic Human Relations Area Files sample of North American Immigrant Groups, each culture was coded on six measures each for grid and for group. Testing the social capital hypothesis using income and self-employment data from the 1990 census, the authors found a negative correlation between high group and high self-employment, particularly for the first generation. This finding suggests that high levels of general social capital on a group level may not be as supportive of entrepreneurship as previously asserted. The study's results are compatible with the "family social capital" model of entrepreneurship.