Source: Los Angeles Times

On September 12, 1999, the Los Angeles Times published an article on the entrepreneurial impact of some immigrant groups in the 1990s, particularly immigrants from the Middle East. In a 1996 study published in the Journal of Human Resources, Americans of Middle Eastern descent, including Christians, Muslims, and Jews, were twice as likely as the national average to be self-employed. In the five-county greater Los Angeles area, an analysis done by California State Northridge demographers James P. Allen and Eugene Turner found that the highest rates of entrepreneurship are among those of Israeli, Iranian, Lebanese, and Armenian heritage. Their influence is felt across many industries, including the garment, jewelry, textile, manufacturing, real estate, retail, and distribution industries.