Is Self-employment and Micro-entrepreneurship a Desired Outcome?

SummaryThis paper links employment dynamics to the business cycle in Argentina and examines the self-employed sector. We evaluate whether this sector resembles the industrialized countries view, where it is characterized as being creative and dynamic, or the dualistic view, where it is seen as stagnant and unproductive. We study transition patterns from salaried positions and unemployment, and the evolution of the sector in the period of analysis. We found a clear segmentation. Own-account workers (accounting for over two-thirds of the self-employed) show characteristics similar to what is predicted by the dualistic view; while self-employed with employees resembles the industrialized countries view.