Self-employment : a microeconometric approach

Esta tesis ofrece un exhaustivo análisis empírico tanto de la decisión de convertirse en autoempleado como del éxito en este estado en toda la UE-15. Así, a través de modelos de elección discreta, analizamos las transaciones al autoempleo, distinguiendo desempleados y empleados asalariados dentro del estado inicial, y empleadores y trabajadores autónomos dentro del estado final. Por otra parte, este trabajo estudia la decisión de convertirse en empleador, partiendo de la situación del trabajador autónomo, que interpretamos como la consecuencia del propio éxito del negocio. Además, utilizamos modelos de duración en tiempo discreto para analizar la supervivencia en el autoempleo. Por último, llevamos a cabo dos estimaciones complementarias en las que analizamos separadamente la duración en su estado de los trabajadores autónomos y de los empleadores. Este trabajo, además de presentar los trabajos empíricos que conforman su núcleo, ofrece un marco conceptual para el análisis y una revisión y evaluación de las fuentes de información disponibles para el estudio del presente tópico._______________________________________________________________________________________This dissertation provides an exhaustive empirical analysis of the decision to become an entrepreneur and success in self-employment across the EU-15. We start by analyzing the decision to become self-employment with and without employees from unemployment and paid-employment using discrete choice models. Furthermore, this work studies the decision of becoming self-employed with employees from own-account work, which can be seen as the result of business growth and success. On the other hand, discrete hazard rate models are used to measure self-employment stability. Finally, two complementary duration analyses are performed where we distinguish those own-account workers from employers as starting status. In addition, and before presenting the empirical works forming the core of this dissertation, this thesis tries to clarify a conceptual framework for the existing definitions and taxonomies of the entrepreneurship concept, and is complemented by an analysis and evaluation of some of the existing databases to study this topic

Escribir para aprender: una aplicación para la asignatura Macroeconomía Intermedia

This study describes and evaluates a teaching experience that combines the use of financial press with the ‘writing to learn’ method, within the subject Intermediate Macroeconomics. The subject belongs to a field of economics which is characterised by a particularly high degree of mathematical abstraction and in which the accurate assimilation of theoretical content thus becomes essential. Thanks to the establishment of a collaboration agreement, students are offered the chance to publish press articles related to economic issues in a special supplement of El Periódico de Huelva. When comparing the academic performance of students who did or did not participate in the experience, the results appear to confirm the positive effects of using methods that promote active learning, such as the one used in this experienceUniversidad de Huelva: Proyectos de Innovación e Investigación para la mejora de la Docencia UniversitariaDepartamento de Economía General y Estadístic

The underground economy in times of crisis: an analysis of undeclared work in Europe

Este estudio analiza el trabajo no declarado como pieza fundamental en la economía sumergida en la UE-28, haciendo especial énfasis en su cuantificación y evolución, estructura, variabilidad por países y determinantes. Con este objetivo, se aplican métodos de regresión lineal y modelos de elección discreta con variable dependiente binaria sobre la base de los microdatos correspondientes a los Eurobarómetros especiales dedicados al análisis del fenómeno del trabajo no declarado en los años 2007 y 2013. Los resultados muestran la importancia que tienen sobre el trabajo no declarado (i) el grado de aceptación individual del propio fenómeno; (ii) la percepción del riesgo de sanciones; (iii) la situación laboral del sujeto; y (iv) la propia situación macroeconómica. Las implicaciones de estos resultados para el espectro de políticas disponibles para combatir la economía sumergida son también discutidas en este trabajo.This study analyzes undeclared work as a key portion of the shadow economy in the EU-28, with special focus on its incidence, dynamics, structure, differences across countries and underlying determinants. To this end, linear regression and binary discrete choice models are applied to microdata drawn from 2 special Eurobarometers which are designed to explore undeclared work phenomenon in the years 2007 and 2013. Our results stress the importance of (i) the individual assessment of irregular and individualistic behaviours; (ii) the perceived risk of being detected undertaking paid undeclared work; (iii) the occupation; and (iv) the aggregated conditions, as determinants of undeclared work. The implications of these results for the existing policy options for dealing with the shadow economy are also discussed

Face mask use during the COVID‑19 pandemic: how risk perception, experience with COVID‑19, and attitude towards government interact with country‑wide policy stringency

Background: During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, governments imposed numerous regulations to protect public health, particularly the (mandatory) use of face masks. However, the appropriateness and effectiveness of face mask regulations have been widely discussed, as is apparent from the divergent measures taken across and within countries over time, including mandating, recommending, and discouraging their use. In this study, we analyse how country-level policy stringency and individual-level predictors associate with face mask use during the early stages of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Method: First, we study how (self and other-related) risk perception, (direct and indirect) experience with COVID- 19, attitude towards government and policy stringency shape face mask use. Second, we study whether there is an interaction between policy stringency and the individual-level variables. We conduct multilevel analyses exploiting variation in face mask regulations across countries and using data from approximately 7000 students collected in the beginning of the pandemic (weeks 17 through 19, 2020). Results: We show that policy stringency is strongly positively associated with face mask use. We find a positive association between self-related risk perception and mask use, but no relationship of mask use with experience with COVID-19 and attitudes towards government. However, in the interaction analyses, we find that government trust and perceived clarity of communication moderate the link between stringency and mask use, with positive government perceptions relating to higher use in countries with regulations and to lower use in countries without regulations. Conclusions: We highlight that those countries that aim for widespread use of face masks should set strict measures, stress self-related risks of COVID-19, and use clear communication

The moderating role of IPR on the relationship between country-level R&D and individual-level entrepreneurial performance

Using recent data drawn from the European Working Conditions Survey for 32 European countries, we explore the relationship between country-level expenditures on R&D, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and individual-level entrepreneurial performance as measured by earnings. Our results show that both R&D expenditures and IPR are positively associated with earnings (and hence the quality) of individual entrepreneurs. However, we also find an intriguing moderation effect in the sense that IPR reduces the positive relationship between country R&D and entrepreneurial earnings. This suggests that too strict IPR legislation may hamper the diffusion of knowledge created by R&D. Hence, governments need to carefully consider the level of IPR they want to install, especially in countries with high R&D expenditures.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad: Proyectos ECO2017-86305-C4-2-R y ECO2017-86402-C2-2-R. Junta de Andalucía: Grupo de investigación SEJ-487 (Spanish Entrepreneurship Research Group – SERG). Universidad de Huelva: Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia.Departamento de Economía General y Estadístic

Decide to digitalize! Barriers, drivers and the entrepreneurial cognition perspective

This article introduces the special issue Decide to Digitalize! Barriers, Drivers and the Entrepreneurial Cognition Perspective. Nine research papers have been selected to reach two primary research aims: first, to understand how entrepreneurs, cognitively, make strategical decisions in order to be more competitive in the technology sector; second, to investigate how digital technologies and ICTs are being used in the context of SMEs and entrepreneurship.Consejería de Economía, Hacienda y Fondos Europeos - Junta de Andalucía (proyecto UHU-1265299)Departamento de Economía General y Estadístic

Disability and health problems as barriers to employment in Spain

The labour inclusion of people with disabilities is one of the objectives of labour and social policies. Indeed, this group is perceived increasingly less as a group of people with physical and social limitations and more as people with goals and challenges that can be overcome with appropriate social and institutional support (Livermore et al., 2000). However, advances in this field are insufficient, according to data available from the Spanish Statistical Office. As an example, the employment rate of people with disabilities in 2016 was 25.1%, which is a 2.5-point increase since 2014; this rate is still 40 points below the employment rate of people without disabilities. Despite such limited progress, the number of studies on the relationship between disability and economic activity in Spain is scarce, and these studies have some limitations. Many are simply descriptive analyses. Other conditional analyses mainly examine labour participation, without distinguishing between the heterogeneous groups that coexist within each of these two situations: participation (e.g., self-employed, paid employees, unemployed) and nonparticipation (e.g., student, home workers, early retired individuals). Finally, most of them are based on relatively obsolete data

Disability and Health Problems as Barriers to Employment in Spain

This paper explores the role of different types of limitations, diseases and health problems on both the probability of working and the probability of belonging to different groups (entrepreneurs, civil servants, other paid employees, unemployed, inactive individuals and students). To this end, we apply binary and multinomial non-ordered discrete choice models to microdata drawn from the 2014 European Health Interview Survey for Spain. Our main results show that the probability of having a job is lower for those individuals with mental limitations or health problems. When distinguishing between groups, we see that neither physical nor mental limitations affect the probability of being a civil servant

Trademarks and their association with Kirznerian entrepreneurs

Although trademarks are the most widely used form of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by firms across all economic sectors worldwide, this indicator is a much less exploited information resource in empirical analysis compared with patents. Our work addresses this gap by investigating the relationship between trademark registration and entrepreneurial activity using data for 33 European countries. Our empirical results show a positive and significant relationship between the share of the self-employed workforce in a given country that can be considered ‘entrepreneurial’ –which we associate with the share of Kirznerian entrepreneurs– and trademark registration at the country level. These results have important implications for scholars, practitioners and policy makers, which are discussed in this work.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad: Proyectos de I+D+i ECO2017-86305-C4-2-R y ECO2017-86402-C2-2-R. Junta de Andalucía: Grupo de investigación SEJ-487 Spanish Entrepreneurship Research Group – SERG. Universidad de Huelva: Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia.Departamento de Economía General y Estadístic

Entrepreneurship, financiación e innovación : la situación en la Unión Europea

La política empresarial de la Unión Europea se ha diseñado sobre la base de que el principal impedimento y hecha diferencial con Estados Unidas, en lo que respecto o la creación de empresas, reside en la existencia de diferencias es la accesibilidad al capital. De esto formo, los principales instrumentos se dirigen a introducir mecanismos que mejoren el funcionamiento del mercado financiero, y ayudas o los proyectos que tienen mayores dificultades para conseguir el capital necesario: fundamentalmente los innovadores. La literatura empírica sobre la cuestión apunta en esta dirección, al apartar evidencia sobre la existencia de restricciones de liquidez. Sin embargo, cuando la dotación de capital se aproxima a través de las renta global del sujeto, los resultados se modifican. Atendiendo a este última resultada, no existiría una relación directa entre la puesta en marcha de las proyectas empresariales y la dotación de capital, al menos con carácter general, lo cual estaría en línea con las que consideran que lo función empresarial y el capital deberían entenderse como factores productivos diferenciados