ABSTRACT
Chinese immigrant communities seem to establish themselves in economic niches that symbolise Chinese ethnicity. The niches change over time, and differ locally due to various national regulations and global trends. The continued immigration of new groups not only keeps the niches alive, but also transforms them. Not all overseas Chinese are active in the niches; some earn their living within the mainstream economy. Earlier and later migrants tend to have different functions in the niches, and second- and third-generation are less likely than first-generation overseas Chinese to be active within Chinese economic niches.
