Satisfaction and Self-employment: Do Men or Women Benefit More from Being Their Own Boss?

Karen Maguire and John Winters

Eastern Economic Journal, 2020, vol. 46, issue 4, No 3, 576-602

Abstract: Abstract This paper uses individual self-reported life satisfaction data to analyze the relationship between self-employment and subjective well-being by gender and race/ethnicity. We document substantial heterogeneity, with women appearing to benefit the most from self-employment. Self-employed women have significantly higher rates of being very satisfied relative to both traditionally employed women and self-employed men. We also find that the self-employed have higher rates of dissatisfaction, and this adverse relationship with self-employment is most pronounced for minorities. These nuanced findings broaden our understanding of the relationship between self-employment and subjective well-being and have important implications for both researchers and policymakers.

Keywords: Well-being; Life satisfaction; Self-employment; Gender; Race (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I31 J2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:easeco:v:46:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1057_s41302-020-00169-1

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DOI: 10.1057/s41302-020-00169-1

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