The Exit and Survival Patterns of Immigrant Entrepreneurs: The Case of Private Incorporated Companies

It is well established that, in most Western countries, rates of small-business ownership tend to be higher among immigrants than among the native-born. In Canada, the overall shares of taxfilers who owned a private incorporated business in 2010 were similar for immigrants (4.6%) and the Canadian-born (4.8%). However, the rate of business ownership was substantially higher (5.8%) among immigrants who had been in Canada for 10 to 30 years. Much less is known about exit and survival patterns of immigrant-owned businesses as there is only a small body of international literature on this topic and little Canadian evidence. This paper addresses this gap by answering two questions. First, do exit and survival patterns (durations) of firm ownership differ between immigrants and individuals born in Canada? Second, what characteristics are associated with lower (or higher) exit rates from business ownership and longer ownership spells among immigrants? The analysis is limited to ownership of private incorporated firms.