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‘"Involuntary Self-employment" as a public policy issue: A cross-country EU comparison’

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Teemu Kautonen, Dr Simon Down

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Abstract

Purpose – There is growing political interest in new forms of precarious self-employment located in a “grey area” between employment and self-employment. A wide range of concepts has been used to debate this issue, and this paper aims to clarify these debates through the concept of involuntary self-employment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the empirical, conceptual and legal-policy approaches to involuntary self-employment via three country case studies in Finland, Germany and the UK. A range of relevant domestic academic literature, articles in the media, selected key expert interviews, and policy and legal documents are employed. Findings – Conceptual clarity regarding involuntary self-employment is achieved through a discussion of two aspects of the phenomenon: the characteristics of involuntariness from a motives-based perspective, and the legal/economic perspectives and policy issues. The motives-based analysis argues that involuntariness as such does not seem to have severe implications on the individuals' well being, given that the individual earns a satisfactory livelihood from her or his business activities. The discussion of the characteristics of and regulation related to working arrangements in the “grey area” between employment and self-employment, where the self-employed individual is strongly dependent on the principal, shows that it is very difficult to regulate quasi self-employment without harming “voluntary” forms of enterprise and inter-firm cooperation at the same time. Originality/value – The key contribution of the paper is to facilitate a foundation for subsequent empirical research and policy development.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Kautonen T, Down S, Welter F, Vainio P, Althoff K, Kantola J, Kolb S

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research

Year: 2010

Volume: 16

Issue: 2

Pages: 112-129

Print publication date: 11/02/2010

ISSN (print): 1355-2554

ISSN (electronic): 1758-6534

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13552551011027002

DOI: 10.1108/13552551011027002

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