an article by Jessica Simpson (City, University of London, UK) and Sarah Smith (Student, Sex worker, UK) published in Work, Employment and Society Volume 33 Issue 4 (August 2019)
Abstract
Sex work remains a contentious area of debate.
Whether or not sex work is considered to be a form of labour is in itself contested.
As discussion is often about rather than with sex workers, this article brings Sarah’s experiences of being both a student and a sex worker, in two different areas of the UK, to centre stage.
This candid account highlights the precarious and competitive nature of being self-employed within the current neoliberal climate, as well as the similarities sex work shares with other ‘mainstream’ forms of labour particularly within the ‘gig economy’. Existing research has focused on how/why students enter the sex industry leaving a gap in the literature regarding what happens after university in this context.
It appears from Sarah’s account that leaving sex work behind may not be as straightforward as she had originally anticipated, for reasons other than just making money.
Full text (PDF 10pp)
Showing posts with label self-employment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-employment. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Monday, 29 July 2019
Social protection for the self-employed in the UK: the disappearing contributions increase
an article by Fran Bennett (University of Oxford, UK) published in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice Volume 27 Number 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
A recent government proposal to increase national insurance contributions for the self-employed in the UK, in return for improved pensions and potentially also parental benefits, was immediately reversed.
This article analyses the reasons behind this about-turn, linking them to tensions between the goals of thwarting ‘bogus’ self-employment and increasing tax revenues versus commitment to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy.
The analysis is set in the context of the singularity of the UK system in relation to much social protection in continental Europe, and wider debates about the roles of individual, state and labour market in providing security.
Abstract
A recent government proposal to increase national insurance contributions for the self-employed in the UK, in return for improved pensions and potentially also parental benefits, was immediately reversed.
This article analyses the reasons behind this about-turn, linking them to tensions between the goals of thwarting ‘bogus’ self-employment and increasing tax revenues versus commitment to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy.
The analysis is set in the context of the singularity of the UK system in relation to much social protection in continental Europe, and wider debates about the roles of individual, state and labour market in providing security.
Thursday, 25 July 2019
Mind the gaps: Universal Credit and self-employment in the United Kingdom
an article by Kevin Caraher and Enrico Reuter (University of York, UK) published in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice Volume 27 Number 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
Self-employment in the United Kingdom rose steadily until 2017, as part of wider changes in labour markets towards more flexible and potentially more vulnerable forms of employment. At the same time, welfare reform has continued under the current and previous governments, with a further expansion of conditionality with respect to benefit recipients.
The incremental introduction of Universal Credit is likely to intensify the subjection of vulnerable categories of the self-employed to welfare conditionalities and to thus accentuate the ambivalent nature of self-employment.
This article analyses the impact of Universal Credit on the self-employed by first discussing elements of precarity faced by the self-employed, and, second, by exploring the consequences of the roll-out of Universal Credit for those self-employed people who are reliant on the social protection system.
Abstract
Self-employment in the United Kingdom rose steadily until 2017, as part of wider changes in labour markets towards more flexible and potentially more vulnerable forms of employment. At the same time, welfare reform has continued under the current and previous governments, with a further expansion of conditionality with respect to benefit recipients.
The incremental introduction of Universal Credit is likely to intensify the subjection of vulnerable categories of the self-employed to welfare conditionalities and to thus accentuate the ambivalent nature of self-employment.
This article analyses the impact of Universal Credit on the self-employed by first discussing elements of precarity faced by the self-employed, and, second, by exploring the consequences of the roll-out of Universal Credit for those self-employed people who are reliant on the social protection system.
Tuesday, 14 August 2018
Paying for Free Delivery: Dependent Self-Employment as a Measure of Precarity in Parcel Delivery
an article by Sian Moore (University of Greenwich, UK) and Kirsty Newsome (University of Sheffield, UK) published in Work, Employment and Society Volume 32 Issue 3 (June 2018)
Abstract
This article explores supply chain pressures in parcel delivery and how the drive to contain costs to ‘preserve value in motion’, including the costs of failed delivery, underpins contractual differentiation.
It focuses on owner-drivers and home couriers paid by delivery.
It considers precarity through the lens of the labour process, while locating it within the supply chain, political economy and ‘instituted economic process’ that define it. Focus on the labour process shows how ‘self-employment’ is used to remove so-called ‘unproductive’ time from the remit of paid labour.
Using Smith’s concept of double indeterminacy the article captures the dynamic relationship between those on standard and non-standard contracts and interdependency of effort power and mobility power. It exposes the apparent mobility and autonomy of dependent self-employed drivers while suggesting that their presence, alongside the increased use of technology, reconfigures the work-effort bargain across contractual status.
Abstract
This article explores supply chain pressures in parcel delivery and how the drive to contain costs to ‘preserve value in motion’, including the costs of failed delivery, underpins contractual differentiation.
It focuses on owner-drivers and home couriers paid by delivery.
It considers precarity through the lens of the labour process, while locating it within the supply chain, political economy and ‘instituted economic process’ that define it. Focus on the labour process shows how ‘self-employment’ is used to remove so-called ‘unproductive’ time from the remit of paid labour.
Using Smith’s concept of double indeterminacy the article captures the dynamic relationship between those on standard and non-standard contracts and interdependency of effort power and mobility power. It exposes the apparent mobility and autonomy of dependent self-employed drivers while suggesting that their presence, alongside the increased use of technology, reconfigures the work-effort bargain across contractual status.
Monday, 13 August 2018
Paying for Free Delivery: Dependent Self-Employment as a Measure of Precarity in Parcel Delivery
an article by Sian Moore (University of Greenwich, UK) and Kirsty Newsome (University of Sheffield, UK) published in Work, Employment and Society Volume 32 Issue 3 (June 2018)
Abstract
This article explores supply chain pressures in parcel delivery and how the drive to contain costs to ‘preserve value in motion’, including the costs of failed delivery, underpins contractual differentiation.
It focuses on owner-drivers and home couriers paid by delivery.
It considers precarity through the lens of the labour process, while locating it within the supply chain, political economy and ‘instituted economic process’ that define it.
Focus on the labour process shows how ‘self-employment’ is used to remove so-called ‘unproductive’ time from the remit of paid labour. Using Smith’s concept of double indeterminacy the article captures the dynamic relationship between those on standard and non-standard contracts and interdependency of effort power and mobility power.
It exposes the apparent mobility and autonomy of dependent self-employed drivers while suggesting that their presence, alongside the increased use of technology, reconfigures the work-effort bargain across contractual status.
Abstract
This article explores supply chain pressures in parcel delivery and how the drive to contain costs to ‘preserve value in motion’, including the costs of failed delivery, underpins contractual differentiation.
It focuses on owner-drivers and home couriers paid by delivery.
It considers precarity through the lens of the labour process, while locating it within the supply chain, political economy and ‘instituted economic process’ that define it.
Focus on the labour process shows how ‘self-employment’ is used to remove so-called ‘unproductive’ time from the remit of paid labour. Using Smith’s concept of double indeterminacy the article captures the dynamic relationship between those on standard and non-standard contracts and interdependency of effort power and mobility power.
It exposes the apparent mobility and autonomy of dependent self-employed drivers while suggesting that their presence, alongside the increased use of technology, reconfigures the work-effort bargain across contractual status.
Thursday, 19 October 2017
The post-crisis growth in the self-employed: volunteers or reluctant recruits?
an article by Andrew Henley (Aberystwyth University, Llanbadarn, Wales and Cardiff University, Wales)
published in Regional Studies
Volume 51 Issue 9 (2017)
Abstract
In the context of recent growth in UK self-employment, the relationship between self-employment choices and local economic and labour market conditions is investigated to address whether self-employment is associated with local ‘push’ or ‘pull’.
Empirical analysis is conducted using UK longitudinal data linked to local area unemployment and earnings data.
Analysis shows that pull factors are more significant in driving transitions into self-employment.
Self-employed business ownership appears not to function as a significant alternative to unemployment where paid employment demand is weak. Entrepreneurial activity prospers where local wages are higher and unemployment lower.
JEL Classification: J21, M13, R11
Abstract
In the context of recent growth in UK self-employment, the relationship between self-employment choices and local economic and labour market conditions is investigated to address whether self-employment is associated with local ‘push’ or ‘pull’.
Empirical analysis is conducted using UK longitudinal data linked to local area unemployment and earnings data.
Analysis shows that pull factors are more significant in driving transitions into self-employment.
Self-employed business ownership appears not to function as a significant alternative to unemployment where paid employment demand is weak. Entrepreneurial activity prospers where local wages are higher and unemployment lower.
JEL Classification: J21, M13, R11
Tuesday, 7 February 2017
Governance In The Labour Supply Chain
an article by Michael Hepburn via ICSA published on the Mondaq blog
Workers in the ‘gig’ economy present new employment law obligations for organisations
A gig economy is an environment in which temporary positions are common and organisations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. The trend towards a gig economy is well under way.
In the summer, the ongoing Uber case was the first of, perhaps, many gig economy examples of workers taking a services company to employment tribunal over employment rights.
With so many new technology services in the delivery, transport and other sectors using new business models it is perhaps no surprise that UK employment law for the individuals involved is uncertain.
Continue reading
Workers in the ‘gig’ economy present new employment law obligations for organisations
A gig economy is an environment in which temporary positions are common and organisations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. The trend towards a gig economy is well under way.
In the summer, the ongoing Uber case was the first of, perhaps, many gig economy examples of workers taking a services company to employment tribunal over employment rights.
With so many new technology services in the delivery, transport and other sectors using new business models it is perhaps no surprise that UK employment law for the individuals involved is uncertain.
Continue reading
Friday, 18 September 2015
Reducing bogus self-employment and supporting the genuinely self-employed
A blog post by Alison Blackwood, Senior Campaigns Officer
Citizens Advice
Self-employment is now a mainstream part of the UK labour market: around 15 per cent of people work in this way. For most people, working for themselves provides welcome flexibility, independence and the reward of growing their own business. However, for some people who are self-employed, the reality is very different.
Continues but better to read the report Neither One Thing Nor the Other (PDF 23pp)
Self-employment is now a mainstream part of the UK labour market: around 15 per cent of people work in this way. For most people, working for themselves provides welcome flexibility, independence and the reward of growing their own business. However, for some people who are self-employed, the reality is very different.
Continues but better to read the report Neither One Thing Nor the Other (PDF 23pp)
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Drivers of freelance career success
an article by Arjan van den Born (Utrecht University, The Netherlands) and Arjen van Witteloostuijn (Utrecht University, The Netherlands; University of Antwerp, Belgium and Tilburg University, The Netherlands) published in Journal of Organizational Behavior Volume 34 Issue 1 (January 2013)
Summary
Recent evidence shows that the frequently proclaimed collapse of the traditional career model is actually not supported by job tenure data. This paper argues that the observed stability of job tenure might be explained by an increasing number of shamrock organisations.
This organisational form has three types of workers:
The organisation largely determines the career of the core employee, whereas the individual essentially shapes that of the professional freelancer.
This paper studies extensively the career of this second group: the professional freelancer, a growing phenomenon in many developed countries but not yet the focus of many career studies.
We develop a freelance career success model on basis of the intelligent career framework augmented by insights from literature on entrepreneurship. Data are from a web survey with responses from about 1,600 independent professionals in the Netherlands, in combination with 51 in-depth interviews.
We provide two main contributions.
First, we report findings from the first large-scale quantitative study into freelance career success.
Second, this study enhances our understanding of the success of the modern career by building bridges between career and entrepreneurship literatures.
We conclude that the external environment in which an individual freelancer operates is the most important factor determining career success. The study therefore suggests that more work needs to be performed on the relationship between the environment and individual career success.
Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Summary
Recent evidence shows that the frequently proclaimed collapse of the traditional career model is actually not supported by job tenure data. This paper argues that the observed stability of job tenure might be explained by an increasing number of shamrock organisations.
This organisational form has three types of workers:
- core employees,
- professional freelancers, and
- routine workers
The organisation largely determines the career of the core employee, whereas the individual essentially shapes that of the professional freelancer.
This paper studies extensively the career of this second group: the professional freelancer, a growing phenomenon in many developed countries but not yet the focus of many career studies.
We develop a freelance career success model on basis of the intelligent career framework augmented by insights from literature on entrepreneurship. Data are from a web survey with responses from about 1,600 independent professionals in the Netherlands, in combination with 51 in-depth interviews.
We provide two main contributions.
First, we report findings from the first large-scale quantitative study into freelance career success.
Second, this study enhances our understanding of the success of the modern career by building bridges between career and entrepreneurship literatures.
We conclude that the external environment in which an individual freelancer operates is the most important factor determining career success. The study therefore suggests that more work needs to be performed on the relationship between the environment and individual career success.
Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Self-employment, educational attainment and employment protection legislation
an article by Tobias Brändle (University of Tuebingen and Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW)) and Florian Baumann (University of Tuebingen) published in Labour Economics Volume 19 Issue 6 (December 2012)
Abstract
We analyse how educational attainment and employment protection influence an individual’s decision to become self-employed. By altering expected income from dependent employment, employment protection is likely to affect an individual’s choice of occupation, although such a link has not been established in the literature so far.
We argue that an interaction between an individual’s educational attainment and the institution of employment protection exists when it comes to the decision regarding whether to become self-employed. Based on survey data from OECD countries, we find evidence for a negative interaction, and conclude that only after taking this interaction into account can the effect of employment protection and educational attainment on self-employment rates be assessed.
Highlights
► We use a theoretical model of self-employment and test its implications empirically.
► Our contribution is to allow for an interaction with educational attainment.
► Employment protection reduces self-employment rather for highly educated workers.
► Inclusion of interaction necessary to assess the effect of employment protection.
JEL Classification: J24, J63
Full text (PDF 39pp) available in SSRN abstract file not via the journal
Abstract
We analyse how educational attainment and employment protection influence an individual’s decision to become self-employed. By altering expected income from dependent employment, employment protection is likely to affect an individual’s choice of occupation, although such a link has not been established in the literature so far.
We argue that an interaction between an individual’s educational attainment and the institution of employment protection exists when it comes to the decision regarding whether to become self-employed. Based on survey data from OECD countries, we find evidence for a negative interaction, and conclude that only after taking this interaction into account can the effect of employment protection and educational attainment on self-employment rates be assessed.
Highlights
► We use a theoretical model of self-employment and test its implications empirically.
► Our contribution is to allow for an interaction with educational attainment.
► Employment protection reduces self-employment rather for highly educated workers.
► Inclusion of interaction necessary to assess the effect of employment protection.
JEL Classification: J24, J63
Full text (PDF 39pp) available in SSRN abstract file not via the journal
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
The effect of work arrangements on perception of work-family balance
an article by Karen A. Duncan and Rachael N. Pettigrew (University of Manitoba, Canada) published in Community, Work & Family Volume 15 Issue 4 (November 2012)
Abstract
This research used a nationally representative sample of women and men in dual-earner families with children from the 1998 and 2005 time-use cycles of Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey.
The work extends knowledge on the effect of the use of three work arrangements: flexible schedules, shift work and self-employment, on respondents’ reported satisfaction with their work-family balance.
Results of regression analysis indicated that work arrangements strongly affected work-family balance and did so differently for women and men. For women, some control over the work schedule significantly improved the perception of balance. For men, both self-employment and shift work were negatively related to reported work-family balance.
The results support a flexible approach by policy-makers and employers in formulating workplace policies that assist employees in achieving satisfaction with the balance between their family and work responsibilities.
Monday, 19 November 2012
Autonomy: the panacea for self-employed women’s work-life balance?
an article by Anne Annink and Laura den Dulk (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands) published in Community, Work & Family Volume 15 Issue 4 (November 2012)
Abstract
This study aims to increase our knowledge of the work-life balance (WLB) of self-employed workers, a changing but often neglected group in work-family research.
A growing number of women are starting their own business in order to combine paid work and family life.
This interview study (N=24) examines how self-employed women with children feel they manage paid work and other life domains in the Netherlands. Autonomy appeared to be an important resource, allowing them to combine their work more easily with childcare, household duties, and social and personal life.
However, the degree and nature of that autonomy and the ability to use it varied among the self-employed in this study owing to work-related factors such as sector, work location, employees, and years of experience.
Another important resource leading to greater satisfaction with the WLB was the ability to define and reflect on personal goals in work and other life domains.
Abstract
This study aims to increase our knowledge of the work-life balance (WLB) of self-employed workers, a changing but often neglected group in work-family research.
A growing number of women are starting their own business in order to combine paid work and family life.
This interview study (N=24) examines how self-employed women with children feel they manage paid work and other life domains in the Netherlands. Autonomy appeared to be an important resource, allowing them to combine their work more easily with childcare, household duties, and social and personal life.
However, the degree and nature of that autonomy and the ability to use it varied among the self-employed in this study owing to work-related factors such as sector, work location, employees, and years of experience.
Another important resource leading to greater satisfaction with the WLB was the ability to define and reflect on personal goals in work and other life domains.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Self-employment, work-family time and the gender division of labour
an article by Lyn Craig, Abigail Powell and Natasha Cortis (University of New South Wales, Australia) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 26 Number 5 (October 2012)
Abstract
Does being self-employed, as opposed to being an employee, make a difference to how parents with young children can balance work and family demands?
Does self-employment facilitate more equal gender divisions of labour?
This article uses the Australian Time Use Survey to identify associations between self-employment and mothers’ and fathers’ time in paid work, domestic labour and childcare and when during the day they perform these activities.
The time self-employed mothers devote to each activity differs substantially from that of employee mothers, while fathers’ time is relatively constant across employment types. Working from home is highly correlated with self-employment for mothers, implying the opportunity to be home-based is a pull factor in mothers becoming self-employed.
Results suggest mothers use self-employment to combine earning and childcare whereas fathers prioritize paid work regardless of employment type.
Self-employment is not associated with gender redistribution of paid and unpaid work, although it facilitates some rescheduling.
Abstract
Does being self-employed, as opposed to being an employee, make a difference to how parents with young children can balance work and family demands?
Does self-employment facilitate more equal gender divisions of labour?
This article uses the Australian Time Use Survey to identify associations between self-employment and mothers’ and fathers’ time in paid work, domestic labour and childcare and when during the day they perform these activities.
The time self-employed mothers devote to each activity differs substantially from that of employee mothers, while fathers’ time is relatively constant across employment types. Working from home is highly correlated with self-employment for mothers, implying the opportunity to be home-based is a pull factor in mothers becoming self-employed.
Results suggest mothers use self-employment to combine earning and childcare whereas fathers prioritize paid work regardless of employment type.
Self-employment is not associated with gender redistribution of paid and unpaid work, although it facilitates some rescheduling.
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Transitions To and From Self- Employment Among Older People With Disabilities in Europe
an article by Ricardo Pagán-RodrÃguez (University of Malaga, Spain) published in Journal of Disability Policy Studies Volume 23 Number 2 (September 2012)
Abstract
This paper analyses the labour-market transitions among older people with disabilities in Europe as compared to their non-disabled counterparts.
Particular attention is paid to the workers’ transitions to and from self-employment.
Using data from the two first waves (2004 and 2007) of a panel data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we estimate employment transition matrices for disabled and non-disabled individuals aged 50 years or over, taking into account the possible transitions in disability status that individuals may experience throughout our panel data.
The results show that older people with disabilities (especially females) who are self-employed in 2004 are less likely to remain in the same labour status three years later.
In contrast, transitions from self-employment to “out of labour force” were relatively higher for disabled individuals as compared to non-disabled ones.
In addition, the results vary when we take into consideration the disability trajectories.
Areas of future research and policy recommendations are given.
Abstract
This paper analyses the labour-market transitions among older people with disabilities in Europe as compared to their non-disabled counterparts.
Particular attention is paid to the workers’ transitions to and from self-employment.
Using data from the two first waves (2004 and 2007) of a panel data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we estimate employment transition matrices for disabled and non-disabled individuals aged 50 years or over, taking into account the possible transitions in disability status that individuals may experience throughout our panel data.
The results show that older people with disabilities (especially females) who are self-employed in 2004 are less likely to remain in the same labour status three years later.
In contrast, transitions from self-employment to “out of labour force” were relatively higher for disabled individuals as compared to non-disabled ones.
In addition, the results vary when we take into consideration the disability trajectories.
Areas of future research and policy recommendations are given.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Self-employment of immigrants and natives in Sweden – a multilevel analysis
an article by Henrik Ohlsson (Lund University, Malmö, Sweden) and Per Broomé and Pieter Bevelander (Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden) published in Entrepreneurship & Regional Development: An International Journal Volume 24 Issue 5-6 (June 2012)
Abstract
Recent research suggests that self-employment among immigrants is due to a combination of multiple situational, cultural and institutional factors, all acting together. Using multilevel regression and unique data on the entire population of Sweden for the year 2007, this study attempts to quantify the relative importance for the self-employed of embeddedness in ethnic contexts (country of birth) and regional business and public regulatory frameworks (labour market areas).
This information indicates whether the layers under consideration are valid constructs of the surroundings that influence individual self-employment. The results show that 10% (women) and 8% (men) of the total variation in individual differences in self-employment can be attributed to the country of birth. When labour market areas are included in the analyses, the share of the total variation increases to 14% for women and 12% for men.
The results show that the ethnic context and the economic environment play a minor role in understanding individual differences in self-employment levels. The results can have important implications when planning interventions or other actions focusing on self-employment as public measures to promote self-employment often are based on geographic areas and ethnic contexts.
Hazel’s comment:
I wonder if the same picture applies in the UK. Anyone have any idea? I couldn't find anything obvious.
Abstract
Recent research suggests that self-employment among immigrants is due to a combination of multiple situational, cultural and institutional factors, all acting together. Using multilevel regression and unique data on the entire population of Sweden for the year 2007, this study attempts to quantify the relative importance for the self-employed of embeddedness in ethnic contexts (country of birth) and regional business and public regulatory frameworks (labour market areas).
This information indicates whether the layers under consideration are valid constructs of the surroundings that influence individual self-employment. The results show that 10% (women) and 8% (men) of the total variation in individual differences in self-employment can be attributed to the country of birth. When labour market areas are included in the analyses, the share of the total variation increases to 14% for women and 12% for men.
The results show that the ethnic context and the economic environment play a minor role in understanding individual differences in self-employment levels. The results can have important implications when planning interventions or other actions focusing on self-employment as public measures to promote self-employment often are based on geographic areas and ethnic contexts.
Hazel’s comment:
I wonder if the same picture applies in the UK. Anyone have any idea? I couldn't find anything obvious.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Does self-employment measure entrepreneurship? Evidence from Great Britain
SERC Discussion Paper 109 by Giulia Faggio (SERC) and Olmo Silva (SERC, Department of Geography and Environment, LSE and IZA) published May 2012
Abstract
Research on entrepreneurship often uses information on self-employment to proxy for business creation and innovative behaviour. However, little evidence has been collected on the link between these measures.
In this paper, we use data from the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS) combined with data from the Business Structure Database (BSD), and the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) to study the relation between self-employment, business creation and innovation.
In order to do so, we aggregate individual and firm-level data at the Travel-to-Work Area (TTWA) and investigate how the incidence of self-employment correlates with the density of business start-ups and innovative firms.
Our results show that in urban areas a higher incidence of self-employment positively and strongly correlates with more business creation and innovation, but this is not true for rural areas. Further analysis suggests that this urban/rural divide is related to lack of employment opportunities in rural areas, which might push some workers into self-employment as a last resort option.
JEL Classifications: L26, J21, R12, R23
Full text (PDF 56pp)
Abstract
Research on entrepreneurship often uses information on self-employment to proxy for business creation and innovative behaviour. However, little evidence has been collected on the link between these measures.
In this paper, we use data from the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS) combined with data from the Business Structure Database (BSD), and the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) to study the relation between self-employment, business creation and innovation.
In order to do so, we aggregate individual and firm-level data at the Travel-to-Work Area (TTWA) and investigate how the incidence of self-employment correlates with the density of business start-ups and innovative firms.
Our results show that in urban areas a higher incidence of self-employment positively and strongly correlates with more business creation and innovation, but this is not true for rural areas. Further analysis suggests that this urban/rural divide is related to lack of employment opportunities in rural areas, which might push some workers into self-employment as a last resort option.
JEL Classifications: L26, J21, R12, R23
Full text (PDF 56pp)
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Are freelancers a neglected form of small business?
an article by John Kitching and David Smallbone (Small Business Research Centre, Kingston-upon Thames University) published in Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development Volume 19 Issue 1 (2012)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that freelancing is neglected by researchers as a form of small business activity. It aims to consider whether it is possible and useful for researchers to distinguish freelancers from other types of small business owner.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper does this in three ways:
Findings
The definition proposed permits identification of many types of freelancer hitherto neglected by researchers. Freelancers are a large and growing proportion of the UK business stock and the recent recession has led to a further expansion.
Originality/value
Given the size and distinctiveness of the freelance workforce, researchers might explore the similarities and differences between freelancers and other small business owners with regard to:
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that freelancing is neglected by researchers as a form of small business activity. It aims to consider whether it is possible and useful for researchers to distinguish freelancers from other types of small business owner.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper does this in three ways:
- first, by conceptualising freelance status;
- second, by examining the research literature on freelance workers; and,
- third, by estimating the size of the UK freelance workforce to demonstrate their importance.
Findings
The definition proposed permits identification of many types of freelancer hitherto neglected by researchers. Freelancers are a large and growing proportion of the UK business stock and the recent recession has led to a further expansion.
Originality/value
Given the size and distinctiveness of the freelance workforce, researchers might explore the similarities and differences between freelancers and other small business owners with regard to:
- their motivations for starting and continuing to operate on a freelance basis;
- experiences of business ownership and management;
- the heterogeneity of the freelance workforce; and
- the wider social, economic and political causes and consequences of freelance working.
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