“Where is the street of Arabs?” Monopolistic competition in Berlin’s Sonnenallee

Abstract

This dissertation deals with the economy of Sonnenallee, a boulevard in Berlin’s district Neukölln which is famous for its many small- and micro-sized-businesses run by immigrants. Whereas until the early 2000s, the image of Neukölln dominated public debates as an example for the failed state of the multicultural society, in recent years the Berlin senate concentrated on a location marketing for this district and especially Sonnenallee as a symbol for diversity, inclusion and creativity, contributing fundamentally to the location’s rising popularity. Known around the city as “the street of Arabs”, today Sonnenallee attracts many customers as well as potential investors, creating an intense competition among entrepreneurs and workers alike and resulting in highly precarious working conditions. Based on field work over the course of five years, what becomes obvious in this research is the significant control private property owners have in Sonnenallee. Due to the scarcity principle, private property owners can charge monopoly rents which lead to eminent wealth disparities among entrepreneurs who are sometimes sub-contractors rather than company owners. By conducting a historical analysis, this thesis explores what kind of economic opportunities the street offers in a given period of time for immigrants from the Middle East and highlights the variety of forms that self-employment can take on.