Pecunia Ex Machina, Pakistani entrepreneurs in the city of Barcelona

The Pakistani migratory project is profoundly driven by economic objectives that are clearly apparent in their hard-working attitudes, their typically modest expenditure and consumption, the high rate of ethnic entrepreneurship and their remarkable commercial success. Nevertheless, the manifest economic inclination of the group involves a high social cost. This article analyses the economic and socio-cultural key issues that underlie the economic behavior of Pakistanis, as well as the social cost of the migratory enterprise. Furthermore, the paper describes the socio-cultural traits of the Pakistani community and, through a description of Pakistani settlement, it focuses on other important processes that concern the configuration of the city, such as gentrification, centrifugation and reproduction.

Key words: ethnic entrepreneur, migration, Pakistanis, social and cultural traits, economic cost, economic anthropology

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