The challenge of explaining the rapid increase in self-employment over the last few decades lies not only in understanding what is attracting more people to this type of work, but also in the ability to determine those conditions which support the retention of individuals who venture into this...

In Canada, in Quebec, and in most industrialized countries, autonomous employment showed more rapid growth during the 1980s and 1990s than did full-time, salaried employment. The authors wonder how it is possible to explain the strong growth of this employment status, especially in the case of...