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The Value of Autonomy: Evidence from the Self-Employed in 23 Countries

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Matthias Benz
Bruno S. Frey

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Abstract

The self-employed are substantially more satisfied with their work than employed persons. We document this relationship for 23 countries and show that the higher job satisfaction can directly be attributed to the greater autonomy that self-employed persons enjoy. "Being your own boss" seems to provide non-pecuniary benefits from work that point to the existence of procedural utility: autonomy is valued beyond outcomes as a good decision-making procedure. The results hold not only for Western European, North American and former communist Eastern European countries, but largely also for countries with a non-western cultural background.

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Paper provided by Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW in its series IEW - Working Papers with number iewwp173.

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Handle: RePEc:zur:iewwpx:173

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Related research
Keywords: self-employment; autonomy; job satisfaction; procedural utility;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D00 - Microeconomics - - General - - - General
M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions
L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure

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  1. Fehr, Ernst & Fischbacher, Urs & von Rosenbladt, Bernhard & Schupp, Jürgen & Wagner, Gert G., 2003. "A Nation-Wide Laboratory: Examining Trust and Trustworthiness by Integrating Behavioral Experiments into Representative Surveys," IZA Discussion Papers 715, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  2. Igor Evstigneev & Thorsten Hens & Klaus Schenk-Hoppé, 2006. "Evolutionary stable stock markets," Economic Theory, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 449-468, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Foellmi, Reto & Zweimuller, Josef, 2004. "Inequality, market power, and product diversity," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 139-145, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Aleksander Berentsen & Esther Brügger & Simon Lörtscher, 2003. "On Cheating and Whistle-Blowing," Diskussionsschriften dp0302, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Alois Stutzer & Bruno S. Frey, . "Does Marriage Make People Happy, Or Do Happy People Get Married?," IEW - Working Papers iewwp143, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Bruno S. Frey & Simon Luechinger, . "Measuring Terrorism," IEW - Working Papers iewwp171, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  7. Urs Fischbacher & Christina M. Fong & Ernst Fehr, . "Fairness, Errors and the Power of Competition," IEW - Working Papers iewwp133, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Alois Stutzer & Bruno S. Frey, . "Stress That Doesn't Pay: The Commuting Paradox," IEW - Working Papers iewwp151, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Stephan Meier & Bruno S. Frey, . "Do Business Students make Good Citizens?," IEW - Working Papers iewwp148, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Bruno S. Frey & Matthias Benz & Alois Stutzer, 2003. "Introducing Procedural Utility: Not only What, but also How Matters," CREMA Working Paper Series 2003-02, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
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  11. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, . "Testing Theories of Happiness," IEW - Working Papers iewwp147, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  12. Bruno S. Frey & Stephan Meier, . "The Economics of Museums," IEW - Working Papers iewwp149, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Bruno S. Frey & Simon Luechinger, . "Terrorism: Deterrence May Backfire," IEW - Working Papers iewwp136, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  14. Ernst Fehr & John A. List, 2004. "The Hidden Costs and Returns of Incentives-Trust and Trustworthiness Among CEOs," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(5), pages 743-771, 09. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Foellmi, Reto & Oechslin, Manuel, 2007. "Who gains from non-collusive corruption?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 95-119, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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This page was last updated on 2009-12-17.

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