Immigrant and Minority Businesses: Making the Policy Case

Abstract

The government plays an important role in the socio-inclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities in its capacity as employer and purchaser of services. The government's functioning as "a business," in particular as a buyer of goods and services that includes immigrants and minorities in Europe, is examined. Several factors are significant in the growing importance of ethnic minority and immigrant entrepreneurship in Europe: (1) as an alternative to wage labor, unemployment, and public assistance; (2) as a source of benefit for national economies; (3) as a pathway to socio-economic integration. Immigrant and ethnic minority business is gaining recognition among several European governments (Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Public procurements and the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) of 1994 are reviewed, along with European Union legislation, and debates on a social approach to public procurement. In most countries, government at all levels is the largest consumer in the market; the current trend in government is to contract out an increasing proportion of its spending. In the European Union, public procurement contracts account for 14% of the GDP, i.e., over 1,000 billion Euros per year. Proactive procurement policies are profitable and advantageous from both a business and a social policy viewpoint.(CBS)