Working Paper Series, Center for Labor Studies,
Uppsala University, Department of Economics

Abstract: The business cycle is likely to be of importance for self-employment rates. When the economy is growing, business opportunities open up and encourage the set-up of new firms. In downturns, self-employment may be a way to avoid unemployment. The strength of these pull and push factors may depend on the amount of human capital a person has. The findings in this paper show that although the local business cycle is of minor importance for total self-employment rates in Sweden, there are heterogeneous effects across groups. People with higher human capital endowments are more likely to be pulled into self-employment, while those with lower human capital endowments are to a larger extent pushed into self-employment. This pattern is particularly strong for women.

Keywords: Self-employment; local business cycle; panel data

JEL-codes: J21; J24

28 pages, August 28, 2013

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91646_32013_9_revised-version.pdf  Updated version

172357_20139.pdf  

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