Solo self‐employment––Key policy challenges

Abstract

This study reviews key policy challenges relating to solo self‐employed workers––the segment with increasing shares in the workforce in most developed countries in recent decades. We document that this segment attracts the attention of policymakers within four policy domains: addressing decent work deficits, entrepreneurship and small business policies, activating marginalized groups through self‐employment, and improving the well‐being of the solo self‐employed. We offer an integrative framework enabling the analysis of synergies and contradictions of the various policy initiatives targeting the solo self‐employed. The study argues that workers who persistently employ only themselves should be understood as a (third) segment of the labor market qualitatively distinct from the traditionally defined categories of “employee” or “employer.” A policy‐oriented segmentation of the contemporary workforce using this “blurred trinary divide” is proposed with size estimates of its key segments and subsegments. Finally, the study discusses the prospects of the solo self‐employed in the emerging post‐pandemic economy and offers recommendations regarding future research and data collection.

Personal values and entrepreneurship: does the unemployment rate matter?

“…, 2011), and their motivation differs as well. This study, in line with Cieślik and van Stel (2023), distinguishes solo self-employed from employers and argues that they should be understood as a stand-alone labor market segment qualitatively distinct from employees and employers. The European Social Survey dataset enables this distinction.…”

“…The previous studies suggested that self-employment can be an effective way out of unemployment (Dvouletý and Lukeš, 2016) despite the effects being time-limited and mostly unrelated to additional job creation (Dvouletý, 2022). Self-employment can also be attractive for those women who try to combine work with childcare and family responsibilities (Cieślik and van Stel, 2023).…”

“…It makes sense to distinguish solo self-employed and those who created businesses employing others. This approach has been increasingly applied in various studies related to entrepreneurship (Cie slik and van Stel, 2023;Hessels et al, 2017) as there is a strong reasoning behind it. The solo self-employed belong to the most vulnerable groups in the labor market (Rom an et al, 2011).…”

“…Their contracts typically allowed for quick termination of the business relationship compared to employees. Consequently, solo self-employed were the first victims of economic slowdown and pandemic-related closures and restrictions (Cie slik and van Stel, 2023;Blackburn et al, 2021). Compared to waged employees, they reported higher reductions in working hours and income, and their well-being felt (Yue and Cowling, 2021).…”

“…Their contracts typically allowed for quick termination of the business relationship compared to employees. Consequently, solo self-employed were the first victims of economic slowdown and pandemic-related closures and restrictions (Cieślik and van Stel, 2023; Blackburn et al. , 2021).…”