New self-employment as a theoretical matter

Chapter 2 tackles the topic of the new forms of self-employment as a theoretical matter, in the light of their extraordinary increase in European economies. Considering first the drivers of this growth in the majority of countries, it then provides some interpretations of the way in which self-employment is challenging the solid theories of labour market dualization (insider–outsider divide) and the contraposition between dependent and autonomous work. Moreover, the chapter explains why self-employment is becoming the typical work model for the digital economy and how a paradox is occurring between the resistance of a model of professionalism, both in the market and in companies and, contemporaneously, the loss of social status of these professionals. High levels of education and professional specialization are no longer a guarantee of high levels of income and social status and this has repercussions on class structure. Within this theoretical framework, the second part of the chapter considers the multiple institutional dilemmas that governments and the European Union are called to face, with respect to the ambiguity of self-employed professionals’ legal status and the weakness of social protection.