Self-Employed Workers and the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: An Overview of Their Social Benefit Entitlements across 31 European Countries

Mara Mațcu-Zaharia, Ioana Alexandra Horodnic (), Colin Williams and George Cristian Nistor
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Mara Mațcu-Zaharia: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, 700505 Iași, Romania
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, 700505 Iași, Romania
George Cristian Nistor: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, 700505 Iași, Romania

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: One of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8). While the actions suggested to reach this goal target numerous actors in the labor market, such as entrepreneurs running small and medium-sized enterprises, unemployed people, students and young people, persons with disabilities, children and adults forced to work, and migrant workers, these are not the only important groups to focus on. This paper discusses a group receiving less attention: self-employed workers. Through a review of literature and the legislative framework on the social benefits of self-employment across 31 European countries, challenges to the self-employed achieving decent work are identified. The most prominent challenges are that, in many countries, these workers lack social protection against unemployment or accidents at work and that the conditions for their entitlement to social benefits are more demanding than for employees. These constitute impediments to achieving SDG 8‘s goal of “decent work for all”, and SDG 10′s aim to “reduce inequalities”.

Keywords: SDG 8; SDG 10; self-employment; self-employed workers; social benefits of self-employed workers; social protection of self-employed workers; workers equality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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