The Reemergence of Self-employment: A Comparative Study of Self-employment Dynamics and Social Inequality

by Arum, Richard; Muller, Walter

• ISBN13: 9781400826117
• ISBN10: 140082611X
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780691117560, 9780691117577
• Copyright: 2008-09-02
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr
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Summary

This book presents results of a cross-national research project on self-employment in eleven advanced economies and demonstrates how and why the practice is reemerging in modern societies. While traditional forms of self-employment, such as skilled crafts work and shop keeping, are in decline, they are being replaced by self-employment in both professional and unskilled occupations. Differences in self-employment across societies depend on the extent to which labor markets are regulated and the degree to which intergenerational family relationships are a primary factor structuring social organization. For each of the eleven countries analyzed, the book highlights the extent to which social background, educational attainment, work history, family status, and gender affect the likelihood that an individual will enter--and continue--a particular type of self-employment. While involvement with self-employment is becoming more common, it is occurring for individuals in activities that are more diverse, unstable and transitory than in years past.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. vii
Tables	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Self-Employment Dynamics in Advanced Economies	p. 1
Trends in Self-Employment in Germany: Different Types, Different Developments?	p. 36
Entries and Exits from Self-Employment in France over the Last Twenty Years	p. 75
Dutch Self-Employment between 1980 and 1997	p. 104
Self-Employment in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and 1990s	p. 135
Entrepreneurs and Laborers: Two Sides of Self-Employment Activity in the United States	p. 170
Self-Employment in Australia,1980-1999	p. 203
Winners or Losers? Entry and Exit into Self-Employment in Hungary: 1980s and 1990s	p. 245
Three Forms of Emergent Self-Employment in Post-Soviet Russia: Entry and Exit Patterns by Gender	p. 277
Self-Employment in Italy: Scaling the Class Barriers	p. 310
Entry into and Exit from Self-Employment in Japan	p. 348
On One's Own: Self-Employment Activity in Taiwan	p. 388
The Reemergence of Self-Employment: Comparative Findings and Empirical Propositions	p. 426
Contributors' Notes	p. 455
Index	p. 459
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