The study explores the quality of life in ethnic business in different European countries in relation to welfare and educational policies that assist families engaged in ethnic business in their socializational tasks. The analysis will focus primarily on northern European countries, (UK, France, Denmark, Germany) with a longer immigration and ethnic economy tradition. In order to achieve a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon we shall investigate, although in a smaller scale, also a southern European country (Greece) in which ethnic businesses comprising more than one generation is a new but growing phenomenon.

The objective of the study was to investigate the quality of life of ethnic entrepreneurs and their family members in an intergenerational and gender perspective. Focusing on the specific conditions that enable or hinder the young generation to accumulate educational and cultural resources and to develop their own life plans, the study explored the interrelation between the quality of life of ethnic entrepreneurs and the future chances of their children.

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