| Since its creation in the 1960s, the Cuban enclave economy in Miami has been celebrated for its ability to provide Cubans with opportunities for upward mobility. Even though academics agree that there is a Cuban enclave economy in Miami, there is little consensus about what an ethnic enclave economy is and how it functions. The lack of attention to changes over time or variation in space makes it necessary to critically reexamine the theoretical concept. In order to examine the political, historical, economic and social contexts in which the Cuban enclave economy is embedded at different geographic scales, I employed a mixed-methods approach combining a survey and intensive interviews with Cubans in Miami in fall 2000.; The migration and settlement experiences of Cubans need to be contextualized both in Miami and in Cuba. The events that triggered a refugee wave, the way in which the migration proceeded, and the context of reception that Cubans encountered in Miami determine their experiences in the host society as well as the social relations within the Cuban community in Miami. The different socio-economic status, values, ideologies and experiences of Cubans of different refugee waves explain the decrease of ethnic solidarity within the Cuban community in Miami, which in turn influences the functioning of the ethnic enclave economy.; The geographic analysis of the Cuban enclave economy shows that the characteristics of different Cuban refugee waves interact with the characteristics of different places within the Miami metropolitan area to produce different types of ethnic enclave economies, which fulfill different functions for the Cuban community and the general economy.; Finally, I argue that changing gender relations in the Cuban community also influence the functioning of the enclave economy. However, gender is not the most salient factor determining women's experiences in the ethnic enclave economy. Rather than focusing narrowly on gender, an intersectional analysis of gender, class, race, immigration status and other factors is necessary to understand the functioning of the ethnic enclave economy. |
