Extant evidence that the self-employed overestimate their returns by more than employees do is consistent with two mutually inclusive possibilities. Self-employment may generate optimism or optimists may be drawn to self-employment. This paper finds that employees who will be self-employed in...

This paper undertakes an analysis of the motivating factors cited by the self-employed in the UK as reasons for choosing self-employment. Very limited previous research has addressed the question of why individuals report that they have chosen self-employment. Two questions are addressed using...

A range of alternative empirical definitions of informal activity have been employed in the literature. Choice of definition is often dictated by data availability. Different definitions may imply very different conceptual understandings of informality. This paper investigates the degree of...

Contemporary dynamic theories of self-employment choice focus on occupational switching costs, and the risk associated with entrepreneurial income streams. However little or no previous research has addressed the question of what factors determine the length of time that it takes aspiring...

This paper provides a quantitative investigation of the strength of the potential relationship between entrepreneurial activity and religious affiliation. The relationship between religion and economic development has attracted recent attention. A positive association may indicate that religion...

Wirkungsevaluationen stehen oft vor der Herausforderung, Kausalität zwischen der betrachteten neuen Politikmassnahme und den resultierenden Outcomes herzustellen. Mangelnde Vergleichbarkeit zwischen der Programmgruppe (neue Politik) und der Kontrollgruppe (Status Quo) macht oft eine kausale...

Die Nettozuwanderung nach Deutschland ist im Jahre 2013 wieder auf einen Wert gestiegen, den es zuletzt vor über einem Jahrzehnt gegeben hat. Gleichzeitig entwickelt sich aktuell eine besorgte öffentliche Debatte über die sogenannte Wohlfahrtsmigration - dabei wird unterstellt, dass Bürger...

Der Beitrag geht auf die Kabinettsfassung des Mindestlohngesetzentwurfs ein. Trotz einiger richtiger Nachjustierungen – wie zum Beispiel die Einführung einer Evaluationsklausel – bleibt der Mindestlohn ein arbeitsmarktpolitisches Großexperiment. Um die Flurschäden am Arbeitsmarkt...

The fact that unemployed workers have different abilities to smooth consumption entails heterogeneous responses to extended unemployment benefits. Our empirical exercise explores a quasi-experimental setting generated by an increase in the benefits entitlement period. The results point towards a...

This paper identifies and quantifies the contribution of a set of covariates in affecting levels and over time changes of happiness inequality. Using a decomposition methodology based on RIF regression, we analyse the increase in happiness inequality observed in Germany between 1992 and 2007,...