Self-Employment and Inheritance: the Weight of Inequality among Siblings

Abstract

Inequality of transfers between children of the self-employed are ambiguous. Those who take up the statusand in particular the family businessreceive greater economic transfers. However, they can also feel captive in their role as continuators, especially when their parents have invested little in their educational achievement. While they are more likely to become business owners, it is not necessarily out of choice.This article combines an analysis of data from the 2003-2004 Household Assets Survey (Enquête Patrimoine) with the conclusions of ethnographic studies to examine the conditions in which parents transfer self-employment status. We explore not only the special advantages for business owners children who choose self-employment, but also the inequalities between them with respect to the decision to go into business.Self-Employment, Inheritance, Household Assets, Intra-Family Inequality