| In this analysis I investigate Korean immigrant business concentration in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area using zip code locations. The sample consists of 4,846 Korean businesses in 23 counties which include 278 zip codes. The Korean business sample was integrated with the 1992 U.S. economic census to measure the proportion of Korean businesses of total local businesses. The proportion of Korean businesses are related to data from the 1990 census of population and housing to analyze the socio-economic characteristics of areas with high Korean businesses concentration. Bivariate models describe the racial-ethnic, economic, and business competition characteristics of areas with a high concentration of Korean businesses. A series of multivariate, curvilinear, interactive models test which factors are most important in determining where Korean business are located.;Indices of dissimilarity show that Korean businesses, especially food-related businesses, are located in very different areas than non-Korean businesses. The multivariate results indicate that areas that are both poor and black had the highest concentrations of Korean businesses. Korean businesses also tend to avoid competition with big businesses. Even controlling for poverty and racial composition, zip codes in the central cities had higher concentrations of Korean owned businesses. Separate analyses by type of business showed that this pattern describes mostly food-related businesses. Korean nonfood businesses are not so concentrated as Korean food businesses in poor, black, central city areas. Interviews suggest that there may be a shift over time from food to nonfood businesses and from poor central city areas to the more affluent suburbs. |
