Paper short abstract:

This paper analyzes the role of social capital in return migrant enterprises in the Philippines. Using direct observation and key informant interviews, results revealed that cognitive social capital played a positive role to return migrant entrepreneurship compared to structural social capital.

Paper long abstract:

Social capital theory, although present in migration literature, has been largely applied to the analysis of initiation to migration. Social capital, according to Alejandro Portes (1998), is a form of capital that "inheres in the structure of people's relationships." Although studies on return migration experiences in various parts of the world and migrant entrepreneurship in the host societies had started to trickle in migration literature, there is however a dearth in documenting the burgeoning entrepreneurial initiatives of return migrants, especially as it relates to the Philippines. This paper aims to contribute to this paucity by looking at how social capital is deployed to facilitate several return migrant-led entrepreneurial initiatives in Filipino communities. Using key informant interviews and direct observation methods, this paper conducted an in-depth case study research on the experiences of two successful Filipino return migrants from Bulacan Province in Central Luzon, Philippines who had established migrant businesses after returning to the Philippines. The paper aims to analyze the function/s played by structural and cognitive forms of social capital in the establishment of return migrant enterprises. Since social capital is not directly measurable as a concept, proxy variables such as 'networks and memberships' (structural social capital) and 'social trust' (cognitive social capital) will hence be applied to explain the workings of social capital in facilitating or curtailing return migrant entrepreneurship. The major finding of this paper is that cognitive social capital has a more positive impact on return migrant entrepreneurship rather than structural social capital.