Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/19956 
Year of Publication: 
2004
Series/Report no.: 
Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy No. 1104
Publisher: 
Max Planck Institute for Research into Economic Systems, Jena
Abstract: 
This paper deals with explaining the sizable differences in the rate of self-employment (business ownership) across 15 European countries in the period 1978-2000, within a framework of occupational choice, focusing on the influence of dissatisfaction and of per capita income. Using two different measures of dissatisfaction, in addition to the level of economic development and controlling for several other variables, we find that, in addition to a negative and significant impact of per capita income, dissatisfaction at the level of societies has a positive and significant influence on self-employment levels. Both dissatisfaction with life and dissatisfaction with the way democracy works are found to influence self-employment. It is concluded that these are proxies for job dissatisfaction and at the same time represent other negative 'displacements' known to promote self-employment. The findings indirectly point at the potential importance of push factors within the incentive structures of modern economies.
Subjects: 
comparative analysis of economies
cultural economies
entrepreneurship
macroeconomic analyses of economic development
JEL: 
M13
Z1
O57
P52
O11
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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