IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v55y2020i2d10.1007_s11187-019-00242-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do freelance independent contractors promote entrepreneurship?

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Burke

    (University of Dublin)

  • Imran Zawwar

    (Cranfield University)

  • Stephanie Hussels

    (Cranfield University)

Abstract

We investigate whether or not the level of entrepreneurial activity in an economy is determined by the availability of freelance independent contractors in the workforce. We develop hypotheses and test them through an analysis of 75 countries from 2002 to 2012 using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database. We find freelance independent contractors promote entrepreneurial activity where typically a 10% rise in the freelance workforce causes about a 1% increase in entrepreneurial activity. The significance of this positive effect is robust for both necessity and opportunity-driven entrepreneurial types and across innovation-driven and efficiency-driven economies—but it is stronger in innovation-driven economies and also for necessity entrepreneurship. It implies that having a flexible workforce is a key ingredient to having an entrepreneurial economy. Furthermore, it indicates that orthodox research and public policy perspectives which overlook the importance of freelance independent contractors for entrepreneurship activity require a re-appraisal.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Burke & Imran Zawwar & Stephanie Hussels, 2020. "Do freelance independent contractors promote entrepreneurship?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 415-427, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:55:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s11187-019-00242-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-019-00242-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-019-00242-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-019-00242-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David, Audretsch & Donald, Kuratko & Albert, Link, 2015. "Making Sense of the Elusive Paradigm of Entrepreneurship," UNCG Economics Working Papers 15-4, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics.
    2. Kevin M. Murphy & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 2008. "Why Is Rent-Seeking So Costly to Growth?," Springer Books, in: Roger D. Congleton & Kai A. Konrad & Arye L. Hillman (ed.), 40 Years of Research on Rent Seeking 2, pages 213-218, Springer.
    3. Robert C. Feenstra & Robert Inklaar & Marcel P. Timmer, 2015. "The Next Generation of the Penn World Table," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 3150-3182, October.
    4. Robert J. Barro, 1998. "Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262522543, April.
    5. Michael Fritsch & Oliver Falck, 2007. "New Business Formation by Industry over Space and Time: A Multidimensional Analysis," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 157-172.
    6. Matthew R. Marvel & Justin L. Davis & Curtis R. Sproul, 2016. "Human Capital and Entrepreneurship Research: A Critical Review and Future Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(3), pages 599-626, May.
    7. Unger, Jens M. & Rauch, Andreas & Frese, Michael & Rosenbusch, Nina, 2011. "Human capital and entrepreneurial success: A meta-analytical review," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 341-358, May.
    8. Wennekers, Sander & van Stel, André & Carree, Martin & Thurik, Roy, 2010. "The Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Economic Development: Is It U-Shaped?," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 6(3), pages 167-237, July.
    9. Evans, David S & Jovanovic, Boyan, 1989. "An Estimated Model of Entrepreneurial Choice under Liquidity Constraints," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 808-827, August.
    10. Thurik, A. Roy & Carree, Martin A. & van Stel, André & Audretsch, David B., 2008. "Does self-employment reduce unemployment?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 673-686, November.
    11. George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2004. "Returns to investment in education: a further update," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 111-134.
    12. Tobias Karmann & René Mauer & Tessa C. Flatten & Malte Brettel, 2016. "Entrepreneurial Orientation and Corruption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 223-234, January.
    13. Dieter Bögenhold & Jarna Heinonen & Elisa Akola, 2014. "Entrepreneurship and Independent Professionals: Social and Economic Logics," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 20(3), pages 295-310, August.
    14. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David N. Weil, 1992. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 407-437.
    15. Joern Block & Karsten Kohn & Danny Miller & Katrin Ullrich, 2015. "Necessity entrepreneurship and competitive strategy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 37-54, January.
    16. Zoltan J. Acs & Sharon Gifford, 2008. "Innovation of Entrepreneurial Firms," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 5, pages 49-64, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. David B. Audretsch, 1995. "Innovation and Industry Evolution," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011468, April.
    18. Caselli, Francesco & Esquivel, Gerardo & Lefort, Fernando, 1996. "Reopening the Convergence Debate: A New Look at Cross-Country Growth Empirics," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 363-389, September.
    19. Sander Wennekers & André Stel & Roy Thurik & Paul Reynolds, 2008. "Nascent entrepreneurship and the level of economic development," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 325-325, March.
    20. Anokhin, Sergey & Schulze, William S., 2009. "Entrepreneurship, innovation, and corruption," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 465-476, September.
    21. Robert E. Lucas Jr., 1978. "On the Size Distribution of Business Firms," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 9(2), pages 508-523, Autumn.
    22. Jiaochen Liang & Stephan Goetz, 2016. "Self-employment and trade shock mitigation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 45-56, January.
    23. Elke J. Jahn & Regina T. Riphahn & Claus Schnabel, 2012. "Feature: Flexible Forms of Employment: Boon and Bane," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(562), pages 115-124, August.
    24. Barro, Robert J. & Lee, Jong Wha, 2013. "A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 184-198.
    25. Zoltan Acs & Sameeksha Desai & Jolanda Hessels, 2008. "Entrepreneurship, economic development and institutions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 219-234, October.
    26. Jiaochen Liang & Stephan J. Goetz, 2016. "Self-employment and trade shock mitigation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 45-56, January.
    27. Catherine Armington & Zoltan J. Acs, 2008. "The Determinants of Regional Variation in New Firm Formation," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 18, pages 224-243, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    28. Acs, Zoltán J & Audretsch, David B & Evans, David S, 1994. "Why Does the Self-Employment Rate Vary Across Countries and Over Time?," CEPR Discussion Papers 871, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    29. David Audretsch & Roy Thurik, 2004. "A Model of the Entrepreneurial Economy," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2004-12, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
    30. Zoltan Acs & David Audretsch & Pontus Braunerhjelm & Bo Carlsson, 2012. "Growth and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 289-300, September.
    31. Poh Wong & Yuen Ho & Erkko Autio, 2005. "Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth: Evidence from GEM data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 335-350, January.
    32. Paolo Mauro, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712.
    33. James S. Foreman-Peck, 1985. "Seedcorn or Chaff? New Firm Formation and the Performance of the Interwar Economy," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 38(3), pages 402-422, August.
    34. Nazrul Islam, 1995. "Growth Empirics: A Panel Data Approach," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 1127-1170.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mojca Svetek & Mateja Drnovsek, 2022. "Exploring the Effects of Types of Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity on Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 149-170, January.
    2. Ivona Huđek & Polona Tominc & Karin Širec, 2021. "The Human Capital of the Freelancers and Their Satisfaction with the Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-23, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hugo Erken & Piet Donselaar & Roy Thurik, 2018. "Total factor productivity and the role of entrepreneurship," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(6), pages 1493-1521, December.
    2. Ratan J. S. Dheer, 2017. "Cross-national differences in entrepreneurial activity: role of culture and institutional factors," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 813-842, April.
    3. Bloom, David E. & Canning, David & Kotschy, Rainer & Prettner, Klaus & Schünemann, Johannes, 2024. "Health and economic growth: Reconciling the micro and macro evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. Alvina Sabah Idrees & Saima Sarwar, 2021. "State effectiveness, property rights and entrepreneurial behaviour as determinants of National Innovation," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 392-423, September.
    5. Catherine Laffineur & Saulo Dubard Barbosa & Alain Fayolle & Emeran Nziali, 2017. "Active labor market programs’ effects on entrepreneurship and unemployment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 889-918, December.
    6. Marco Vivarelli, 2013. "Is entrepreneurship necessarily good? Microeconomic evidence from developed and developing countries," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 22(6), pages 1453-1495, December.
    7. E. Tsanana & X. Chapsa & C. Katrakilidis, 2016. "Is growth corrupted or bureaucratic? Panel evidence from the enlarged EU," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(33), pages 3131-3147, July.
    8. David Urbano & Sebastian Aparicio & Victor Querol, 2016. "Social progress orientation and innovative entrepreneurship: an international analysis," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 26(5), pages 1033-1066, December.
    9. Faiza A. Khan, 2014. "Economic Convergence in the African Continent: Closing the Gap," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 82(3), pages 354-370, September.
    10. Lenkei, Balint & Mustafa, Ghulam & Vecchi, Michela, 2018. "Growth in emerging economies: Is there a role for education?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 240-253.
    11. Enrico Santarelli & Marco Vivarelli, 2007. "Entrepreneurship and the process of firms’ entry, survival and growth," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 16(3), pages 455-488, June.
    12. Dr Walid Y Alali, 2010. "Influence the Education Levels on Income Worldwide: Empirical Evidence," Post-Print hal-03960230, HAL.
    13. Andrew Burke & Marc Cowling, 2020. "On the critical role of freelancers in agile economies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 393-398, August.
    14. Saima Nawaz & M. Idrees Khawaja, 2016. "Fiscal Policy, Institutions And Growth: New Insights," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(05), pages 1251-1278, December.
    15. Su, Yiyi & Song, Jialin & Lu, Ying & Fan, Di & Yang, Miles, 2023. "Economic poverty, common prosperity, and underdog entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    16. David B. Audretsch & Maksim Belitski & Farzana Chowdhury & Sameeksha Desai, 2022. "Necessity or opportunity? Government size, tax policy, corruption, and implications for entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 2025-2042, April.
    17. Hien Thu Tran & Enrico Santarelli, 2017. "Spatial heterogeneity, industry heterogeneity, and entrepreneurship," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 59(1), pages 69-100, July.
    18. Nawaz, Saima, 2015. "Growth effects of institutions: A disaggregated analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 118-126.
    19. Carla Daniela Calá & Miguel Manjón-Antolín & Josep-Maria Arauzo-Carod, 2016. "Regional determinants of firm entry in a developing country," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 259-279, June.
    20. Niklas Elert, 2014. "What determines entry? Evidence from Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 53(1), pages 55-92, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Freelancers; Contractors; Enabling entrepreneurship; Promoting entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial activity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • L24 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Contracting Out; Joint Ventures
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:55:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s11187-019-00242-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.