Abstract
The paper is based on an on-going PhD project, which deals with the entrepreneurial activity of migrants in South Tyrol, Italy. The contribution is based on the concept of embeddedness and understands migrant economies as a particular form of embedded economies. In order to realize migrant economies as new arenas for social development, it is a significantly necessary to rethink migrants role in society. Consequently, increasing awareness of the positive part that migrants can play as self-employees could contribute to a more sensible public debate on the phenomenon. This change in perspective has some methodological consequences for the research itself as it has to be understood as a process of co-construction collocated in the personal life-worlds.