Immigrant entrepreneurs should be meaningfully incorporated into overall economic development strategies at the state and local levels. Industry associations and community based economic development organizations must find ways to effectively connect with immigrant communities that are often out of the mainstream economy.
The entrepreneurial spirit has always accompanied the immigrant population in the United States. Recent research from the Immigrant Learning Center notes that US Census data going back to the 1880s indicate that immigrants were more likely to be self-employed than native-born U.S. citizens. There is a wealth of university and institute research in Massachusetts exploring the correlation between economic success in immigrant communities and regional economic well-being. Both the economic growth and community change should be baselined and tracked longitudinally to support public policy.
The larger body of research exploring the relationships between immigrant communities, economic opportunity, and regional economic competitiveness would benefit from a level of coordination that encourages the development of an immigration research agenda that informs foundations and others in their support of immigrant research, and informs policy. This would be an ongoing facilitated dialogue between academic, institute, and practioneer researchers that would deepen the information stream by the exchange of information and by identifying gaps in research regarding regional economic competitiveness and immigrant communities. Such research would inform a variety of other policies, including the provision of culturally appropriate technical assistance to small businesses, support for immigrant students, and curriculum at colleges and adult basic education programs.
20.a Research institutions, advocacy organizations, and MAPC should establish and implement an immigrant research agenda, with a focus on labor force development