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Do the Unemployed Become Successful Entrepreneurs? A Comparison between the Unemployed, Inactive and Wage-Earners

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Author Info
Pernilla Andersson () (SOFI, Stockholm University, SULCIS)
Eskil Wadensjö () (SOFI, Stockholm University, SULCIS and IZA Bonn)

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Abstract

In many countries unemployed people are helped to become self-employed. Selfemployment, however, does not necessarily lead to success. Many leave self-employment after a short period and the economic outcome varies greatly. It is important to learn more about the economic outcome for unemployed who become self-employed. In the first part of the paper we analyse who became self-employed in the period from 1999 to 2002 of Swedish-born men aged 20 to 60 years who were either wage-earners, unemployed or inactive in 1998. We find that the unemployed, and even more the inactive, are overrepresented among those who become self-employed. In the second part of the paper we study the economic outcome of self-employment in 2002 for Swedish-born men who were either unemployed, inactive or wage-earners in 1998. Economic outcome in 2002 is measured using income from self-employment and having employees in the firm. The estimations show that those who were wage earners in 1998 have higher incomes and are also employing other people in their business to a much higher extent in 2002 than those who in 1998 were unemployed or inactive. This indicates that support to unemployed to become self-employed should be implemented with great care.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 2402.

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Length: 29 pages
Date of creation: Oct 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2402

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Related research
Keywords: self-employment; unemployment; inactive; occupational choice; occupational mobility; labour income; income;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - General
J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Public Policy

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Westhead, Paul & Cowling, Marc, 1995. " Employment Change in Independent Owner-Managed High-Technology Firms in Great Britain," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 111-40, April.
  2. Taylor, Mark P, 1999. "Survival of the Fittest? An Analysis of Self-Employment Duration in Britain," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(454), pages C140-55, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Evans, David S & Leighton, Linda S, 1989. "Some Empirical Aspects of Entrepreneurship," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(3), pages 519-35, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Pfeiffer, Friedhelm & Reize, Frank, 2000. "Business start-ups by the unemployed -- an econometric analysis based on firm data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 629-663, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Milo Bianchi, 2008. "Financial development, entrepreneurship and job satisfaction," PSE Working Papers 2008-59, PSE (Ecole normale supérieure), revised Feb 2009. [Downloadable!]
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