Jewish Soft Loan Societies in New York and London and Immigrant Entrepreneurship, 1880–1914

Abstract

The east European Jews who settled in New York and London in increasing numbers after 1880 were noted by contemporaries as being particularly entrepreneurial. The explanation offered by commentators at the time emphasised cultural exceptionality. This article does not dismiss this argument but seeks, rather, to understand the high levels of self-employment among Jewish immigrants by concentrating on the economic conditions of the principal immigrants trade– the clothing industry – and analysing the impact of innovative financial institutions – the soft loan societies – which subsidised immigrant entry costs.