The Effects of Risk on Self-Employment

The effects of sectoral risk on the propensity to become self-employed are analysed. In contrast to previous studies which assume risk is concentrated only in the self-employment sector, a general equilibrium model is constructed in which uninsurable risk exists in both the paid- and self-employed sectors. It is shown that when agents wish to mix self-employment and employee participation, the effects of sectoral risk on the optimal self-employment decision is ambiguous. This result disappears if agents choose instead to participate in one sector alone.     

Gender Discrimination,Entrepreneurial Talent and Self-Employment

The trend of female self-employment in Italy is stable, with a low level of participation which confirms the prediction of economic theory on discrimination. We contend that gender discrimination alters the distribution of entrepreneurial talent between employees and self-employed workers. This gives rise to the prediction that the self-employed women are less likely to survive when self-employed than men because the lesser entrepreneurial talent of women will increase their risk of failure. Applying Markovian analysis to ISTAT’s labor market transition matrices we verify this prediction: Many women try to set up on their own, but they fail to remain self-employed both because their lesser entrepreneurial talent and because they try to become entrepreneurs without any previous experience of work. ‘If you think you’re so discriminated against, why don’t you set up on your own?’     

The Entry and Exit Dynamics of Self-Employment in Canada

This paper documents the extent and cyclicality of self-employment entry and exit flows; explores transitions to and from self-employment; and investigates the influence of individual characteristics and labor market experience as well as macroeconomic conditions on the probability of moving into or out of self-employment.The self-employed sector now employs over two and a half million Canadian workers, has expanded on average by over 4% in the 1990s and accounted for over three out of every four new jobs the economy has created. There are substantial flows both into and out of self-employment over the last 15 years. Gross flows into and out of self-employment averaged nearly half a million per year between 1982 and 1994, amounting to 42% of the total self-employed population.Regression results reveal no statistical evidence supporting the dominance of the push hypothesis over the pull hypothesis – the notion that people are increasingly pushed into self-employment by deteriorating economic conditions. This analysis is done both through time-series analysis and the analysis of the determinants of flows into (and out of) self-employment. As in paid employment, younger Canadians are subject to higher turnover in self-employment – they are not only more likely to enter but also substantially more likely to leave self-employment. Prior paid-employment experience and prior self-employment experience are both found to be associated with a higher likelihood of entering self-employment. The longer one is self-employed, the less likely he/she is going to leave the business. Having a spouse in business (being self-employed) substantially increases the likelihood of the other spouse becoming self-employed – a self-employed spouse often attracts the other to either join the family business or start their own. We also find evidence that steady family income through paid-employment from one spouse increases the self-employed's (the other spouse's) affordability to continue with the business venture and hence reduces the likelihood of leaving self-employment.     

Windfalls,Wealth, and the Transition to Self-Employment

We examine the transition to, and survival in, self-employment among a sample of British workers. We find evidence of capital constrains, with wealthier individuals being more likely to transit ceteris paribus. Windfall gains raise the probability of transition at a decreasing rate – gains or more than ￡20000–￡22000 reduce the probability of transition – and larger gains reduce the probability of transition amongst relatively wealthier respondents. We also find peculiarities in the effects of particular types of windfall; redundancy payments and inheritances raise the probability of transition, whilst lottery wins reduce the probability of (especially male) transitions. In contrast, inheritances (lottery wins) hinder (augment) self-employment survival.     

Factors Affecting Self-Employment among Indian and Black Caribbean Men in Britain

The central issue addressed in this paper is encapsulated in the fact that many Indians, but relatively few black Caribbeans, are self-employed in Britain. This paper suggests two factors: first, black Caribbeans were "ethnically disinclined" to enter business; second, they did not posses the attributes that were positively related to entering business. Using data from the 1991 Census, this paper pinpoints how much of the observed paucity of self-employed black males in Britain was use to ethnic disinclination and how much was due to attribute disadvantage. More generally, it points to the importance of harnessing attitudes to attributes for generating a high rate rate of entry into self-employment. In this context, the acquisition of "social" attributes that relate to family formation, and the welding of the family into a cohesive economic unit, are at least as important as those attributes, like education, which relate purely to the individual.     

Self-Employment Matching: An Analysis of Dual Earner Couples and Working Households

This paper explores the significance of intra-couple and intra-household influences on self-employment. It may be the case that employment type matching is prevalent whereby individuals within a couple or household are characterised by similar types of employment. Alternatively, an individual may pool income risk with his/her partner by holding a diversified portfolio of employment types within the household thereby introducing an element of intra-household risk pooling. Such an arrangement may be particularly appropriate if one member of the couple is self-employed. We utilise ordered probit and random effects ordered probit analysis to explore the prevalence of employment matching and/or risk pooling within couples or households. Our empirical analysis which is based on cross-section data drawn from the British Family Expenditure Surveys 1996 to 2000 provides evidence of employment type matching both within dual earner couples and, to a lesser extent, in the wider context of working household members.     

The Rise in Self-Employment Amongst U.K. Males

This paper uses time-series data to attempt to identify the factors responsible for the rise in self-employment amongst UK males, focusing in particular on the period of rapid growth which was experienced during the 1980s. The empirical results suggest that the most significant long-run influence on the growth of self-employment has been the rise in the real value of personal sector liquid wealth, though rising levels of GDP and, to a lesser extent, increases in the real value of housing wealth have also made a significant contribution. There is tentative support for the notion that Mrs Thatcher may have succeeded in ushering in an 'entrepreneurial renaissance' within the UK economy, though the evidence for this is rather crude. There is no evidence for the view that 'recession-push' effects have been significant in accounting for the rise in self-employment.     

Existing Self-Employment: An Analysis of Asian Immigrant-Owned Small Businesses

Part of the uniqueness of the immigrant Asian business community in the U.S. lies in the fact that many among the highly educated pursue self-employment in small-scale, low-yielding retail and personal service fields. This study analyzes owner departure for a nationwide sample of small businesses owned by Asian Indian and Filipino immigrants and a comparison group of Asian nonimmigrant firm owners. Controlling for firm and owner traits, highly educated Asian immigrant owners are more likely than others to exit self-employment over the 1987--1991 period; exit from traditional fields (retail and personal services) is pronounced. These exit patterns do not typify the comparison group. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that self-employment is often a form of underemployment among Asian immigrants.     

Self-Employment and Job Satisfaction: Investigating the Role of Self-Efficacy, Depression, and Seniority

Are self‐employed workers more satisfied with their jobs compared to wage and salary workers? Using The National Survey of Families and Households: Wave I, 1987–1988, and Wave II 1992–1994 several expectations are evaluated in this article. First, self‐employed persons should enjoy higher job satisfaction than others. Second, a portion of the association between job satisfaction and self‐employment should be explained by higher levels of self‐efficacy and by lower levels of depression among the self‐employed compared to others. Third, self‐employment veterans are a select group and should be different systematically from self‐employment newcomers with respect to reported job satisfaction. Findings offer support for the first and second arguments above but not the third. Post‐hoc analysis suggests that among the newly self‐employed, the association between job satisfaction and self‐employment depends on both the quantity and quality of time invested in the business. Implications of these findings and directions for further research are discussed.     

发展个体工商户应为我国的基本国策

本文认为,个体工商户在我国是市场经济发展的基础,是市场经济的"推进器",但同时也是一个比较大的弱势群体.发展个体工商户是解决目前就业和再就业的一条重要途径,可以促进第三产业发展及产业结构合理化,有利于中间阶层的形成,有利于构建和谐社会.近几年我国个体工商户递减,说明目前在总体政策上对个体工商户的支持力度不够,环境还不够宽松.文章提出,应将发展个体工商户作为我国的一项基本国策,首先在观念上将斗争哲学转变为和谐哲学,允许其经营;其次要通过行会、协会等自治机构,规划管理,自律约束,合法经营,促进各行各业的发展.为了支持个体工商户的发展,应对个体工商户实行免税.     

Self-Employment Among Immigrants in Sweden – An Analysis of Intragroup Differences

This paper examines intragroup differences in self-employment within different immigrant groups and the native population in Sweden with the help of 1990 Census data. Intragroup differences are observed among all the groups. The study shows that differences in self-employment rates between individuals with different educational attainment exist for some of the immigrant groups. For immigrants from Southern Europe and non-European immigrants as well as for natives, the propensity for self-employment is lower among individuals with higher education. Furthermore, the study also shows that there are intragroup differences defined by gender and point in time for immigration. Finally, the study observes small differences in self-employment earnings within the different immigrant groups.     

Health Knowledge and Nutritional Adequacy of Female Heads of Households in the United States

Female-headed households—consumer units with a female reference person, with or without children, and with no spouse—are a growing segment of the U.S. population. Data from a recent consumption survey (CSFII-89) are used to identify the socioeconomic determinants of nutritional adequacy for this group. Nonparametric procedures are used to select a parametric model that best describes the data. The results indicate that education, health (nutrition) knowledge, income, and degree of urbanization are important predictors of the overall nutritional status of this population. Among these, health knowledge is the most significant, suggesting that improving such knowledge could lead to more informed decisions and an enhancement of diet quality. Perceptions, demographic variables, time use, and spatial indicators are found to be less important predictors of intake.     

The Heterogeneity of Self-Employment: The Example of Asians in the United States

Self-employment rates differ widely across industries and across racial and ethnic categories. The heterogeneity of self-employment is most pronounced among Asians working in the U.S. The self-employment rate of Koreans is almost eight times greater than the self-employment rate of Laotians. This paper examines the pattern of self-employment across more narrowly defined classifications of Asians and industries to illustrate the heterogeneity of self-employment, and discusses the implications of this heterogeneity.     

Female self-employment and children

Several analyses report a positive correlation between fertility and female self-employment; however, scholars disagree about the direction of this relationship. Knowing about the causal relationship is important because the relevant mechanisms and possible implications differ tremendously. This paper studies two competing hypotheses: Is self-employment more attractive to women because they have children? Or, is it occupation-specific characteristics of self-employed women that impact their fertility? This work applies a unique approach by utilizing exogenous variation in both children and self-employment.     

Race,Self-Employment,and Upward Mobility An Illusive American Dream: Response to John Sibley Butler's Review Essay

Small Business Economics -     

被诋毁的女性形象

现如今电台和电视台部分广告所塑造的“现代”女性形象，越来越让人不敢恭维，甚至令人厌恶，她们的负面形象有：贪婪、势利、小心眼、野蛮……     

Health Systems and Health Reform in Europe

The organisation of health care differs widely across Europe. Access to services, financing schemes, incentives for better care, and administrative efficiency are challenges that are being dealt with in a variety of ways. Are insurance-based systems the best solution for balancing resources and services or are national health funds preferable? Does the introduction of competition fulfil high hopes for better service at lower costs? What are the relative advantages and drawbacks of central and local management of health care?     

Female Institutional Directors on Boards and Firm Value

In this paper, we examine the relationship between the environmental practices and implied cost of equity. Using a comprehensive sample of 23,301 firm–year observations from 43 countries, we find that an improvement in environmental practices leads to reduction of the implied cost of equity. Further, the results are stronger in countries where country-level governance is weak. Our results indicate that most of the benefits come from the reduction of emission and unnecessary wastage of resources. Our results remain robust to alternative specifications and endogeneity concerns.     

针对女性消费的营销策略探微

女性自身的生理特征以及社会角色决定了女性消费群体巨大的消费能力和消费潜力。众多企业正是敏感地看到了这一点，深刻认识到要想征服市场必须首先征服女人，于是都把女人当作产生利润的重要消费群体。本文针对这一实际情况，简单提出了女性消费的特征，同时从产品的开发、价格、广告、销售促进等方面提出了一些相关策略。