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It's the Opportunity Cost, stupid! How Self-Employment responds to Financial Incentives of Return, Risk and Skew

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Berkhout

    (RIGO)

  • Joop Hartog

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Mirjam van Praag

    (University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

There is no robust empirical support for the effect of financial incentives on the decision to work in selfemploymentrather than as a wage earner. In the literature, this is seen as a puzzle. We offer a focus on theopportunity cost, i.e. the wages given up as an employee. Information on income from self-employment is ofinferior quality and this is not just a problem for the outside researcher, it is an imminent problem of theindividual considering self-employment. We also argue that it is not only the location of an incomedistribution that matters and that dispersion and (a)symmetry should not be ignored. We predict that highermean, lower variance and higher skew in the wage distribution in a particular employment segment reducethe inclination to prefer self-employment above employee status. Using a sample of 56,000 recent graduatesfrom a Dutch college or university, grouped in approximately 120 labor market segments, we find significantsupport for these propositions. The results survive various robustness checks on specifications andassumptions.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Berkhout & Joop Hartog & Mirjam van Praag, 2011. "It's the Opportunity Cost, stupid! How Self-Employment responds to Financial Incentives of Return, Risk and Skew," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 11-165/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20110165
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joop Hartog & Ada Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell & Nicole Jonker, 2002. "Linking Measured Risk Aversion to Individual Characteristics," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 3-26.
    2. Joseph Golec & Maurry Tamarkin, 1998. "Bettors Love Skewness, Not Risk, at the Horse Track," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(1), pages 205-225, February.
    3. Barton H. Hamilton, 2000. "Does Entrepreneurship Pay? An Empirical Analysis of the Returns to Self-Employment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 604-631, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Arvid Raknerud & Mirjam van Praag, 2014. "The entrepreneurial earnings puzzle. Evidence from matched person-firm data," Discussion Papers 789, Statistics Norway, Research Department.

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    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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