Occupational Choice and Self-Employment: Are They Related?

Alina Sorgner and Michael Fritsch (m.fritsch@uni-jena.de)

No 533, SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research from DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)

Abstract: Often, a person will become an entrepreneur only after a period of dependent employment, suggesting that occupational choices precede entrepreneurial choices. We investigate the relationship between occupational choice and self-employment. The findings suggest that the occupational choice of future entrepreneurs at the time of labor market entry is partly guided by a taste for skill variety, the prospect of high. - earnings, and occupational earnings risk. Entrepreneurial intentions may also emerge after gaining work experience in a chosen occupation. We find that occupations characterized by high levels of unemployment and earnings risk, relatively many job opportunities, and high self-employment rates foster the founding of an own business. Also, people who fail to achieve an occupation-specific income have a tendency for selfemployment.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial choice; occupation-specific determinants of entrepreneurship; risk preferences; taste for variety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D1 J24 L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 p.
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hrm, nep-lab, nep-lma and nep-sbm
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Occupational Choice and Self-Employment - Are They Related? (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp533

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