Exploiting variation in exposure to Chinese import growth across U.S. local markets, I investigate the effects of import competition on self-employment between 1990 and 2014. I find Chinese import competition had negative effects on self-employment during the 1990s. However, the negative effects...

We investigate effects of plausibly exogenous variation in the value of oil and natural gas production in local economies on self-employment in the United States. We find that self-employment is procyclical, i.e. self-employment increases during a business cycle expansion and is reduced during a...