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Workers on the Border between Employment and Self-employment

Author

Listed:
  • Ulrike Muehlberger
  • Silvia Pasqua

Abstract

The number of workers on the border between self-employment and employment has strongly increased across Europe over the last decade. This paper investigates whether and in what respect these workers differ from employees and self-employed, and analyses whether these work relationships are a stepping stone to more stable employment in the short-run using Italian data. Depending on the data source, the “para-subordinates” represent between 1.8 percent and 5.3 percent of the Italian labor force. Since most of them work only for one company and are strongly integrated into the firm of the contract partner, we argue that labor and social security law discriminates against these workers whose status is in fact very close to employees. We find that they are not low-qualified workers, but young, highly educated professionals. At the same time these contracts seem not to be a port of entry into the labor market nor do we find that they are a vehicle to more stable jobs. However, they are a possibility for women to work part-time.

Suggested Citation

  • Ulrike Muehlberger & Silvia Pasqua, 2009. "Workers on the Border between Employment and Self-employment," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 67(2), pages 201-228.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsocec:v:67:y:2009:i:2:p:201-228
    DOI: 10.1080/00346760701875215
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Angelo Lorenti & Christian Dudel & Mikko Myrskylä, 2019. "The Legacy of the Great Recession in Italy: A Wider Geographical, Gender, and Generational Gap in Working Life Expectancy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 283-303, February.
    2. Matteo Picchio & Mattia Filomena, 2021. "Are Temporary Jobs Stepping Stones Or Dead Ends? A Meta-Analytical Review Of The Literature," Working Papers 455, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    3. Sarah Wall, 2015. "Dimensions of Precariousness in an Emerging Sector of Self-Employment: A Study of Self-Employed Nurses," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 221-236, May.
    4. Werner Eichhorst & Michela Braga & Ulrike Famira-Mühlberger & Maarten Gerard & Thomas Horvath & Martin Kahanec & Marta Kahancová & Michael J. Kendzia & Monika Martišková & Paola Monti & Jakob Louis Pe, 2013. "Social Protection Rights of Economically Dependent Self-Employed Workers," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46989, June.
    5. Ana Millán & José María Millán & Leonel Caçador-Rodrigues, 2020. "Disclosing ‘masked employees’ in Europe: job control, job demands and job outcomes of ‘dependent self-employed workers’," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 461-474, August.
    6. Raquel Carrasco & Virginia Hernanz, 2022. "Dependent self-employment across Europe: involuntariness, country’s wealth and labour market institutions," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(14), pages 1568-1583, March.
    7. Juan D. Ramos-Poyatos & Jorge Barrientos-Marín & Ana Millán & José María Millán & André Stel, 2025. "Mind the Digital Gap: The Role of Regional-Level General and Digital Human Capital in Shaping ICT Use of Different Types of Entrepreneurs," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(3), pages 11445-11483, September.
    8. Mussida Chiara & Sciulli Dario, 2015. "Flexibility Policies and Re-employment Probabilities in Italy," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 621-651, April.
    9. Rossella Bozzon & Annalisa Murgia, 2022. "Independent or Dependent? European Labour Statistics and Their (In)ability to Identify Forms of Dependency in Self-employment," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 199-226, February.
    10. Sieds, 2012. "Complete Volume LXVI n.1 2012," RIEDS - Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica - The Italian Journal of Economic, Demographic and Statistical Studies, SIEDS Societa' Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica, vol. 66(1), pages 1-296.
    11. Böheim, René & Mühlberger, Ulrike, 2009. "Dependent self-employment: workers between employment and self-employment in the UK," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 42(2), pages 182-195.
    12. Concepción Román & Emilio Congregado & José Millán, 2011. "Dependent self-employment as a way to evade employment protection legislation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 363-392, October.
    13. Lorenti, Angelo & Dudel, Christian & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2018. "The legacy of the great recession in Italy: a wider geographical, gender, and generational gap in working life expectancy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 88302, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure

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