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The blocked mobility or relative disadvantage thesis posits that because of relative disadvantages experienced by immigrants in the labour market in the host society, many will turn to self-employment as an alternative to wage-labour. Part of the difficulty with previous research in this area is the failure to distinguish between self-employment in professional and non-professional occupations. On the basis of the 1986 Canadian census data, our findings show that the blocked mobility thesis is supported in the case of immigrants with high educational credentials obtained from home countries, who have a higher likelihood of turning to self-employment in none professional occupations, compared to those with similar education levels among either the native-born or immigrants with Canadian education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, self-employment was perceived as a mechanism whereby immigrants could circumvent discriminatory practices in wage labor. More recent research by Borjas in the United States, however, suggests that this view is incorrect. Immigrants, particularly members of visible minorities, are disadvantaged in both the wage labor and the self-employed markets. This pattern has not been replicated in Canada, however; after controlling for several socioeconomic attributes, it is found that foreign-born, self-employed visible minority-group members are not at a disadvantage in relation to the majority population. Foreign-born visible minority group members earn less, however, in the wage labor force. In contrast, it was found that there is no statistically significant difference between native-born visible minority group members and others in the wage labor force, and that native-born, self-employed minority-group members may earn more than others in that market segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]