Institutional reform and diaspora entrepreneurs the in-between advantage

281 Pages·2016·13.49 MB·English

by  Brinkerhoff

Institutional Reform and
Diaspora Entrepreneurs

Institutional Reform and
Diaspora Entrepreneurs
The In- Between Advantage
Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff
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1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Brinkerhoff, Jennifer M., 1965- author.
Title: Institutional reform and diaspora entrepreneurs : the in-between
advantage / Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016007565 (print) | LCCN 2016015109 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190278229 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: Return migration—Economic aspects. | Emigration and immigration—Economic aspects.
| Entrepreneurship. | Social institutions. | Social change. | Economic development—Social aspects. |
BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / International / General. | POLITICAL SCIENCE / General. |
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Development / General.
Classification: LCC JV6217.5 .B75 2016 (print) | LCC JV6217.5 (ebook) | DDC 338/.0408691—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016007565
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
In the social sciences there is a special room … to underline the multiplicity and creative
disorder of the human adventure, to bring out the uniqueness of a certain occurrence, and
to perceive an entirely new way of turning a historical corner.
— Albert O. Hirschman, A Bias for Hope, 1971
We seek a richly diversified experience, where every difference strengthens and reinforces
the other. Through the interpenetrating of spirit and spirit, differences are conserved, ac-
centuated and reconciled in the greater life which is the issue. Each remains forever himself
that thereby the larger activity may be enriched and in its refluence, reinforce him. The
activity of co- creating is the core of democracy, the essence of citizenship, the condition
of world- citizenship.
— Mary Parker Follett, Creative Experience, 1930
When I think of beauty I … think of those unknown people who are the real heroes for
me, who you never hear about, who hold out on lines— on frontiers of awful want and
awful situations and manage somehow to go beyond the given impoverishments and offer
gifts of possibility and imagination and seeing.
— John O’Donohue, “The Inner Landscape of Beauty,” 2008
These three quotations illustrate my orientation to this research, as well as my topic’s
potential impact interpersonally and to the world. In taking on the enormously com-
plex phenomena of diaspora entrepreneurs and institutional reform, I sought to iden-
tify what is possible. Moving away from averages and quantitative methods that estab-
lish or at least imply a degree of predictability along a normal curve, I am interested in
those outliers to these analyses who, while rare, can have an enormous impact on the
world around them. In engaging as diasporans and with an intention to promote in-
stitutional reforms, these individuals come to express themselves as well as constitute
others and be constituted by others in relationship. When this co- creation is directed
to constructive change aimed at improving the quality of life of a great many others, it
is, indeed, a beautiful thing. The beauty is in the intention, to be sure, but it is also in
the act itself, which necessitates almost a fated sense of purpose whose depth enables
the protagonists to confront challenges, take risks, and persevere in hope for a better
future. This book is dedicated to these beautiful souls and their artistry—t hose from
both the diaspora and those who remain in the country of origin and are able to main-
tain and enact hope for a better future.

CONTENTS
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
List of Acronyms xv
1. Beyond the Aid Industry: Diasporas as Catalysts
for Reform in the Developing World 1
Diaspora Institutional Entrepreneurs: Significance and Contributions 2
Diasporas and Development: Considering the Full Measure 4
The In- Between Advantage: Diaspora Entrepreneurs and Institutional Reform 7
Outline of the Book 15
2. Defining Entrepreneurs and Exploring Diaspora Applications 17
Part I. Entrepreneurs: Who Are They? What Motivates Them? 18
Part II. The Diaspora Advantage for Entrepreneurship 26
Conclusion 39
3. Institutional Reform, Institutional Entrepreneurs,
and the Potential Diaspora Advantage 40
Part I. Institutional Reform and the Institutional Entrepreneur 40
Part II. Diaspora Advantages as Institutional Entrepreneurs 57
Conclusion 66
4. “Development is the Golden Word”: Coptic Orphans
and the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt 68
Copts in Egypt and in the Diaspora 69
The Coptic Orthodox Church 70
Nermien Riad and Coptic Orphans 78
Coptic Orphans’ as a Diaspora Institutional Entrepreneur Experience 101
Catalyzing Reform in the Church, Education, and Society 105
5. Government- led Institutional Reform: The
Ethiopia Commodities Exchange 108
Why an Ethiopian Commodities Exchange? 108
The Creation and Evolution of ECX 109
Planting Seeds 109
vii
viii Contents
Diaspora Institutional Entrepreneurs: Selected Personality Profiles 124
The ECX as a Diaspora Institutional Entrepreneur Experience 131
Conclusion 137
6. Private Sector- led Institutional Reform: Diaspora
Investment and the “New Ethiopia” 139
The Government Challenge: Engaging a Politicized Diaspora 139
Ethiopian Diasporans in Action 142
Returned Diaspora Business Investors as Diaspora Institutional Entrepreneurs 163
Conclusion 169
7. Political Reform and Good Governance in Chad 170
Good Governance 170
Pursuing Political Change and Good Governance in Chad: Djimé Adoum 171
Djimé Adoum as a Political Institutional Entrepreneur 191
Conclusion 204
8. Diaspora Institutional Entrepreneurs: The In- Between Advantage 206
The In- Between Advantage 206
The Context of Reform: Degree of Environmental Hostility 213
Policy Implications: Diaspora Institutional Entrepreneurs as Reform Partners 223
Theoretical Contributions 227
Diaspora Institutional Entrepreneurs: A Force for
Change in the Developing World 232
Bibliography 235
Index 253
LIST OF FIGURES
3.1 Opportunity Fields and the Arena for Entrepreneurial Change 44
3.2 Diasporans’ Institutional Entrepreneurial Arena 59
3.3 Support Matrix for an Institutional Reform 61
8.1 Continuum of Diaspora Entrepreneurs 212
8.2 Mapping Constituencies for Resistance to Institutional Reform 220
ix