Unravelling the Rag Trade:
Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Seven World Cities
edited by Jan Rath
Oxford: Berg, 2002
256pp, bibliography, index
isbn 9781859734230
Click here to order the book
Summary
The garment industry is one of the world's largest industries, yet there are few sustained examinations of its importance to the global economy and the very vital role that immigrant entrepreneurship has played. Focusing on the garment industry in seven world cities -Paris, London, Birmingham, Amsterdam, New York, Miami and Los Angeles- this book tackles the complex relationship between the development of immigrant entrepreneurship and the shift to global, post-industrial urban economies. The interconnections among immigrant entrepreneurs, social networks, market conditions and regulatory matters are thoroughly explored in a comparative way. Starting from the idea that general social, economic and political processes manifest themselves in ever changing, historically specific shapes, the contributors offer intriguing insights into the dynamics of entrepreneurial management against the backdrop of such processes as: the differential spatial impact of economic restructuring; the significance of governance at various levels; and the conditional use of social capital. With contributions from leading experts in the field, this is a must for those wishing to supplement their knowledge in globalization, labour, economics, immigration and the garment industry broadly speaking.
Contents
Chapter 1
Needle Games: Mixed Embeddedness of Immigrant Entrepreneurs
by Jan Rath
Chapter 2
Paris: A Historical View
by Nancy L. Green
Chapter 3
London: Economic Differentiation and Policy-Making
by Prodromos Panayiotopoulos (aka Mike Pany) & Marja Dreef
Chapter 4
The West Midlands: Still Managing to Survive
by Monder Ram, Bob Jerrard & Joy Husband
Chapter 5
Amsterdam: Stitched Up
by Stephan Raes, Jan Rath, Marja Dreef, Adem Kumcu, Flavia Reil & Aslan Zorlu
Chapter 6
New York: Caught under the Fashion Runway
by Yu Zhou
Chapter 7
Miami: Ethnic Succession and Failed Restructuring
Guillermo Grenier and Alex Stepick
Chapter 8
Los Angeles: Wearing out their Welcome
Ivan Light and Victoria D. Ojeda
Chapter 9
Sewing up Seven Cities
Jan Rath
On the authors
List of tables
List of figures
References
Index