Work-Life Balance and Gender Differences in Self-Employment Income during the Start-up Stage in Japan

Hiroyuki Okamuro and Kenta Ikeuchi

Global COE Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series from Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University

Abstract: This study investigates the determinants of the income levels of newly self-employed workers compared to those of employees, while focusing on the effects of gender and childcare. We argue that working mothers with preschool children prefer self-employment to paid employment, as such arrangements offer better work–life balance. Hence, we predict that self-employed working mothers earn lower incomes than their male counterparts, employed counterparts, and female self-employed worker counterparts who do not have preschool children. Empirical results based on anonymous micro data from Japanese employment statistics support our hypotheses.

Keywords: self-employment; income; gender gap; female labor; childcare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 J16 L26 M13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-11
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd12-260

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