Page 133 - IJPS-11-2

International Journal of
Population Studies Country choice for migrant entrepreneurship

Regarding the geographical differences in the scores, IMIGRENT. This new measure offers a comprehensive
they reflect the importance of immigrant participation in assessment of a country’s entrepreneurial attractiveness
entrepreneurial activities at a higher rate than local-born by incorporating additional factors that have not yet been
individuals (Wellalage et al., 2023). Moreover, immigrant considered, such as personal affairs and accommodations,
and local-born entrepreneurs contribute differently specific issues, and climatic and natural conditions. Specific
according to local legislation and the ease of doing business. inquiries into the national legislation of each country allow
For example, in 2019, immigrant entrepreneurs accounted for a precise evaluation of the country’s attractiveness. This
for 21.7% of all business owners in the United States, and index is also universally applicable, adapting to the needs/
more than 44% of Fortune 500 companies in 2020 had at perspectives of entrepreneurs aiming to start businesses
least one founder who was either an immigrant or a child in a new country based on their citizenship and personal
of immigrants (Wellalage et al., 2023). attitudes toward certain issues. This last aspect is especially
It is also interesting to discuss the fact that immigrants important because different personalities based on varied
are more willing to become entrepreneurs than local personal needs can produce different results.
persons because those who decide to leave their home The analysis in this study covers various issues and
country to start their life anew tend to have a risk- parameters, which can be helpful for decision-making
taking mindset, which is an important characteristic when considering entrepreneurial activities in a new
for entrepreneurs, who face the risk of business failures country. In addition, the findings reveal that local user-
(Vandor, 2021). According to this author’s observations, friendly and transparent legislation for starting a personal
this attitude is seen in countries such as Spain and Italy, business is vital. However, additional factors, such as
where the majority of small businesses are sustained by social politics, climatic conditions, and security also play a
immigrant entrepreneurs. In this regard, the IMIGRENT significant role in such decision-making processes.
index highlights immigrants’ contribution to the local Moreover, this study presents a simulation for a
economy by emphasizing the importance of immigrant hypothetical immigrant entrepreneur from the EU who
citizenship and the country’s legislation within its first would like to settle in another EU country (in this study,
category (i.e., immigration procedures) and in other Spain). However, this approach is broadly applicable and
categories such as personal affairs and accommodations can cover various contexts.
and social services (Appendix). This also indicates that
European citizenship makes all the procedures related to It is worth noting that the IMIGRENT index goes
establishing a business in a new country relatively easier. beyond traditional metrics by considering key areas such
Furthermore, by comparing a European immigrant in as immigrant citizenship, the host country’s legislation,
a European country with a refugee from a third-world personal affairs, social services, and weather conditions. All
country, it is obvious that their experiences greatly differ, these areas not only contribute to a broader understanding
from the immigration procedures to the social security of the immigrant experience in various countries but
procedures. Only the last two categories, that is, specific also serve as useful data for a comparative analysis. By
issues and climatic and other natural conditions, are highlighting differences in these areas, the IMIGRENT
independent of the origins of the immigrants/refugees. index effectively guides policymakers and immigrants in
making more realistic decisions about entrepreneurial
These findings are in line with those of previous studies, strategies.
confirming the effectiveness of the IMIGRENT index
(Dabić et al., 2020; Solano et al., 2019; Karren, 2024). It It is worth mentioning that this study’s analysis is
is also important to emphasize that this index not only limited to the European context and a reduced form of
introduces new features, such as accurately incorporating the IMIGRENT index, as described in the Appendix. An
key issues and adapting to entrepreneurs’ perspectives. In extended study must include the analysis of the full set of
future studies, its practical usefulness will be demonstrated 75 questions for comprehensively describing immigrant
further. entrepreneurs’ decisions. This analysis will be presented in
a future publication.
5. Conclusion Future research will also explore the factors driving the
This study compares two internationally recognized indexes differences between the MIPEX and IMIGRENT indexes,
to quantify a country’s attractiveness for entrepreneurial the dynamic evolution of a country’s attractiveness
activities by immigrants: the World Bank and Transparency for entrepreneurial activities within the IMIGRENT
International’s 2020 EuCham (EUCHAM, 2020), and framework, and the impact of economic or political changes
MIPEX. Further, it introduces a novel index called worldwide. Finally, from a quantitative perspective, suitable

Volume 11 Issue 2 (2025) 127 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.4447