The social sources of migration and enterprise : Italian peasants and Chinese migrants in Prato

Abstract

We will start with an analysis of small-firm economies in Italy and China and then compare and contrast the two migrations to Prato. The purpose of our analysis is not to argue that, despite many differences, the rural to urban migration of Italian peasants and the international migration of Wenzhou Chinese are fundamentally the same. To be sure, there are many similarities, as well as some significant differences, between the two cases of migration, and we want to stress these similarities and differences because sociologically they give us insights into the organizational nature of these two migrations. Rather, our larger purpose is to argue that, by understanding the sociological organization of these two cases of migration, we can better understand the crucial historical differences between the two cases, differences give us insight into the more complex questions about the place of Italian and Chinese family firms in the global economy of the 21st century.