Self-Employment in the Developing World
This paper analyzes heterogeneity among the self-employed in 74 developing countries, representing two-thirds of the population of the developing world. After profiling how worker characteristics vary by employment status, it classifies self-employ...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/09/16867195/self-employment-developing-world http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12090 |
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okr-10986-120902021-04-23T14:02:59Z Self-Employment in the Developing World Gindling, T. H. Newhouse, David AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT AGRICULTURAL LABOR AGRICULTURAL WAGE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS AGRICULTURE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS EARNING ECONOMIC GROWTH EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT GROWTH EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYMENT STATUS ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT ENTREPRENEURS FAMILY WORKERS FIRM SIZE FUTURE RESEARCH GDP GDP PER CAPITA GROWTH POTENTIAL HIGH INCOME HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD HEAD HOUSEHOLD HEADS HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSEHOLD WELFARE HOUSEHOLD_HEAD HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INCOME COUNTRIES INCOME COUNTRY INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GROUP INCOME GROUPS INCOME LEVEL INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMAL SECTOR JOB CREATION JOB SEARCH JOBS LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LABOUR LIVING STANDARDS LOW INCOME MIDDLE INCOME MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA INCOME PER CAPITA INCOMES PERFORMERS POOR POOR HOUSEHOLD POOR HOUSEHOLDS POVERTY LINE PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE PRESENTED EVIDENCE PROBIT REGRESSIONS REGRESSION ANALYSIS RETIREMENT RISK AVERSION RURAL RURAL AREAS SALARIED EMPLOYMENT SALARIED WORKER SALARIED WORKERS SALARY SELF-EMPLOYED SMALL FARMERS TARGETING UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYMENT UNPAID FAMILY WORKERS WAGE WAGE EARNER WAGE EMPLOYMENT WAGE SECTOR WAGES WEALTH WORKER WORKERS This paper analyzes heterogeneity among the self-employed in 74 developing countries, representing two-thirds of the population of the developing world. After profiling how worker characteristics vary by employment status, it classifies self-employed workers outside agriculture as "successful" or "unsuccessful" entrepreneurs, based on two measures of success: whether the worker is an employer, and whether the worker resides in a non-poor household. Four main findings emerge. First, jobs exhibit a clear pecking order, with household welfare and worker education highest for employers, followed by wage and salaried employees, non-agricultural own-account workers, non-agricultural unpaid family workers, and finally agricultural workers. Second, a substantial minority of own-account workers reside in non-poor households, suggesting that their profits are often a secondary source of household income. Third, as per capita income increases, the structure of employment shifts rapidly, first out of agriculture into unsuccessful non-agricultural self-employment, and then mainly into non-agricultural wage employment. Finally, roughly one-third of the unsuccessful entrepreneurs share similar characteristics with their successful counterparts, suggesting they have the potential to be successful but face constraints to growth. The authors conclude that although interventions such as access to credit can benefit a substantial portion of the self-employed, effectively targeting the minority of self-employed with higher growth potential is important, particularly in low-income contexts. The results also highlight the potential benefits of policies that facilitate shifts in the nature of work, first from agricultural labor into non-agricultural self-employment, and then into wage and salaried jobs. 2013-01-04T18:32:57Z 2013-01-04T18:32:57Z 2012-09 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/09/16867195/self-employment-developing-world http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12090 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper; No. 6201 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research |
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Digital Repository |
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Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT AGRICULTURAL LABOR AGRICULTURAL WAGE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS AGRICULTURE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS EARNING ECONOMIC GROWTH EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT GROWTH EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYMENT STATUS ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT ENTREPRENEURS FAMILY WORKERS FIRM SIZE FUTURE RESEARCH GDP GDP PER CAPITA GROWTH POTENTIAL HIGH INCOME HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD HEAD HOUSEHOLD HEADS HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSEHOLD WELFARE HOUSEHOLD_HEAD HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INCOME COUNTRIES INCOME COUNTRY INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GROUP INCOME GROUPS INCOME LEVEL INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMAL SECTOR JOB CREATION JOB SEARCH JOBS LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LABOUR LIVING STANDARDS LOW INCOME MIDDLE INCOME MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA INCOME PER CAPITA INCOMES PERFORMERS POOR POOR HOUSEHOLD POOR HOUSEHOLDS POVERTY LINE PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE PRESENTED EVIDENCE PROBIT REGRESSIONS REGRESSION ANALYSIS RETIREMENT RISK AVERSION RURAL RURAL AREAS SALARIED EMPLOYMENT SALARIED WORKER SALARIED WORKERS SALARY SELF-EMPLOYED SMALL FARMERS TARGETING UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYMENT UNPAID FAMILY WORKERS WAGE WAGE EARNER WAGE EMPLOYMENT WAGE SECTOR WAGES WEALTH WORKER WORKERS |
| spellingShingle |
AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT AGRICULTURAL LABOR AGRICULTURAL WAGE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS AGRICULTURE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS EARNING ECONOMIC GROWTH EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT GROWTH EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYMENT STATUS ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT ENTREPRENEURS FAMILY WORKERS FIRM SIZE FUTURE RESEARCH GDP GDP PER CAPITA GROWTH POTENTIAL HIGH INCOME HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD HEAD HOUSEHOLD HEADS HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSEHOLD WELFARE HOUSEHOLD_HEAD HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INCOME COUNTRIES INCOME COUNTRY INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GROUP INCOME GROUPS INCOME LEVEL INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMAL SECTOR JOB CREATION JOB SEARCH JOBS LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LABOUR LIVING STANDARDS LOW INCOME MIDDLE INCOME MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA INCOME PER CAPITA INCOMES PERFORMERS POOR POOR HOUSEHOLD POOR HOUSEHOLDS POVERTY LINE PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE PRESENTED EVIDENCE PROBIT REGRESSIONS REGRESSION ANALYSIS RETIREMENT RISK AVERSION RURAL RURAL AREAS SALARIED EMPLOYMENT SALARIED WORKER SALARIED WORKERS SALARY SELF-EMPLOYED SMALL FARMERS TARGETING UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYMENT UNPAID FAMILY WORKERS WAGE WAGE EARNER WAGE EMPLOYMENT WAGE SECTOR WAGES WEALTH WORKER WORKERS Gindling, T. H. Newhouse, David Self-Employment in the Developing World |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper; No. 6201 |
| description |
This paper analyzes heterogeneity among
the self-employed in 74 developing countries, representing
two-thirds of the population of the developing world. After
profiling how worker characteristics vary by employment
status, it classifies self-employed workers outside
agriculture as "successful" or
"unsuccessful" entrepreneurs, based on two
measures of success: whether the worker is an employer, and
whether the worker resides in a non-poor household. Four
main findings emerge. First, jobs exhibit a clear pecking
order, with household welfare and worker education highest
for employers, followed by wage and salaried employees,
non-agricultural own-account workers, non-agricultural
unpaid family workers, and finally agricultural workers.
Second, a substantial minority of own-account workers reside
in non-poor households, suggesting that their profits are
often a secondary source of household income. Third, as per
capita income increases, the structure of employment shifts
rapidly, first out of agriculture into unsuccessful
non-agricultural self-employment, and then mainly into
non-agricultural wage employment. Finally, roughly one-third
of the unsuccessful entrepreneurs share similar
characteristics with their successful counterparts,
suggesting they have the potential to be successful but face
constraints to growth. The authors conclude that although
interventions such as access to credit can benefit a
substantial portion of the self-employed, effectively
targeting the minority of self-employed with higher growth
potential is important, particularly in low-income contexts.
The results also highlight the potential benefits of
policies that facilitate shifts in the nature of work, first
from agricultural labor into non-agricultural
self-employment, and then into wage and salaried jobs. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Gindling, T. H. Newhouse, David |
| author_facet |
Gindling, T. H. Newhouse, David |
| author_sort |
Gindling, T. H. |
| title |
Self-Employment in the Developing World |
| title_short |
Self-Employment in the Developing World |
| title_full |
Self-Employment in the Developing World |
| title_fullStr |
Self-Employment in the Developing World |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Self-Employment in the Developing World |
| title_sort |
self-employment in the developing world |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2013 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/09/16867195/self-employment-developing-world http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12090 |
| _version_ |
1764418988855525376 |