Page 126 - IJPS-11-2

International Journal of
Population Studies Country choice for migrant entrepreneurship

such as unemployment, underemployment, xenophobia, and the Migrant Integration Policy Index [MIPEX])
and psychological trauma. This hypothesis has been tested for immigrant entrepreneurship and the influence of
by a longitudinal study involving engineering and business host counties and their respective legislation
students from two Austrian universities (Vandor, 2021). 2. To introduce a more extensive index for quantifying the
This study’s findings indicated that individuals with high attractiveness of a country for migrant entrepreneurial
achievement motivation are significantly more likely to activities, the IMIGRENT index, based on a broad
emigrate and become entrepreneurs at some point in their list of additional factors (social, economic, personal,
lives. climatic, and security) that are influencing the decision
for starting a business in a new country.
A recent analysis based on data from the Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor and a cross-sectional dataset Subsequently, we briefly summarize the three
of 630,139 observations from 69 nations covering the approaches mentioned above. The first approach uses an
period from 2012 to 2015 indicated that the proportion index developed by the World Bank and Transparency
of immigrants in a country is statistically associated with International, which has gained international recognition
the likelihood of various types of businesses, including (EUCHAM, 2020). This approach has been used by
opportunity-driven, necessity-driven, export-oriented, EuCham, which ranks European countries based on
and growth-oriented ventures (Wellalage et al. 2023). The economic indicators mainly related to starting a business,
findings also indicated that the cultural and geographical paying taxes, trading across borders, and registering
differences moderate the relationship between immigration property.
and entrepreneurship, with cultural dimensions having a The second approach involves a recent analysis of
more pronounced impact on entrepreneurial activities in migrant integration using MIPEX, developed by Solano &
middle-income countries compared with high-income Huddleston (2020). This approach quantifies the policies
ones (Wellalage et al., 2023). implemented for integrating migrants in 56 countries
It is worth mentioning the difference in entrepreneurial (from six continents) and considers related factors such
activities and access to them by immigrants and refugees as labor market mobility, family reunification, education,
in terms of the legal status of access to the labor market health, permanent residence, access to citizenship, anti-
(Newman et al., 2024). In this regard, there is growing discrimination, and political participation. In their
empirical research on IMIGRENT, including a recent comparative study, the legal and policy frameworks for
systematic review by Dabić et al. (2020), who found that migrant entrepreneurs in the EU and OECD countries
refugee entrepreneurs tend to have less social capital, are thoroughly examined. On the one hand, by analyzing
fewer economic resources, and greater uncertainty due to various regulations, policies, and practices, they revealed
their visa status. Related research has found that refugees that the legal framework can hinder access to self-
employment for certain migrants, depending on their
often endure more traumatic experiences than voluntary legal status. On the other hand, they found that the policy
migrants, who generally have more choices regarding framework offers various measures that support migrant
where to move, more time to prepare for addressing legal entrepreneurs. However, these measures often consider
issues such as visas, and better access to financial resources migrant entrepreneurs as a relatively uniform group,
(Campion, 2018; Hynes, 2011). When analyzing the overlooking their diverse and unique needs.
differences between refugees and voluntary migrants, it
is important to recognize that involuntary migrants have The third is the novel IMIGRENT index, which can
diverse experiences and specific individual needs, which be applied to all countries worldwide and is based on a
can vary according to their arrival mode, visa category, comprehensive set of criteria covering nearly all aspects
and social status in their home country (Hynes, 2011). For of establishing entrepreneurial activities. The criteria are
example, refugees on temporary visas without permanent summarized as follows:
protection, such as asylum seekers, often have limited access • Immigration procedures
to formal employment opportunities and few financial • Company registration and ownership
resources to establish and expand their businesses. • Personal affairs and accommodations
• Social services
1.2. Objectives and indexes of the present study • Specific issues
Based on the above discussion, the objectives of this study • Climatic and natural conditions
are as follows: The novelty of this index is its in-depth analysis of
1. To review two of the most representative indexes in all aspects related to migrant entrepreneurial activities.
the literature (European Chamber [EuCham] 2020 Specifically, it quantifies the attractiveness of a country

Volume 11 Issue 2 (2025) 120 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.4447