By Choice and by Necessity: Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment in the Developing World

David Margolis

No 8273, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Over half of all workers in the developing world are self-employed. Although some self-employment is chosen by entrepreneurs with well-defined projects and ambitions, roughly two thirds results from individuals having no better alternatives. The importance of self-employment in the overall distribution of jobs is determined by many factors, including social protection systems, labor market frictions, the business environment, and labor market institutions. However, self-employment in the developing world tends to be low productivity employment, and as countries move up the development path, the availability of wage employment grows and the mix of jobs changes.

Keywords: self-employment; entrepreneurship; development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 L26 O14 O17 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2014-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent, nep-iue and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (59)

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Related works:
Journal Article: By Choice and by Necessity: Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment in the Developing World (2014)
Working Paper: By Choice and by Necessity: Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment in the Developing World (2014)
Working Paper: By Choice and by Necessity: Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment in the Developing World (2014)
Working Paper: By Choice and by Necessity: Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment in the Developing World (2014)
Working Paper: By Choice and by Necessity: Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment in the Developing World (2014)
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