The Logic of Ethnic Business Distribution in Multiethnic Cities

Abstract

The authors propose a model for understanding ethnic business locations in multiethnic cities. The central argument of the framework is that the location of ethnic businesses reflects the match between the neighborhood business environment and the unique locational demand of the ethnic businesses involved in particular industrial sectors. Hypotheses were tested by a data set of Chinese businesses in the Toronto area drawn from business directories produced by the City of Toronto in 2000 and York Region in Canada in 2001, which were merged with 2001 Canadian census data.