IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwsop/diw_sp537.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Impact on Earnings When Entering Self-Employment: Evidence for Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Johannes Martin

Abstract

Using data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) earnings differentials between self-employed and wage-employed workers in the German labor market are explored. Previous research based on US data reports lower incomes for entrepreneurs. In contrast to that, the findings of this contribution suggest the opposite for German entrepreneurs. They have considerably higher earnings than wage-employed workers. Furthermore, there is a significant and positive effect on earnings when entering self-employment. This holds true when it is also taken into account that workers usually report a smaller firm size and work longer after beginning an entrepreneurial occupation.

Suggested Citation

  • Johannes Martin, 2013. "The Impact on Earnings When Entering Self-Employment: Evidence for Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 537, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp537
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.415686.de/diw_sp0537.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wagner, Joachim, 2005. "Nascent and Infant Entrepreneurs in Germany: Evidence from the Regional Entrepreneurship Monitor (REM)," IZA Discussion Papers 1522, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Isabel Grilo & Roy Thurik, 2008. "Determinants of entrepreneurial engagement levels in Europe and the US," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 17(6), pages 1113-1145, December.
    3. Joern H. Block & Marcus Wagner, 2010. "Necessity and Opportunity Entrepreneurs in Germany: Characteristics and Earning s Differentials," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 62(2), pages 154-174, April.
    4. Marco Caliendo & Frank Fossen & Alexander Kritikos, 2014. "Personality characteristics and the decisions to become and stay self-employed," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 787-814, April.
    5. Åstebro, Thomas & Thompson, Peter, 2011. "Entrepreneurs, Jacks of all trades or Hobos?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 637-649, June.
    6. Jörn Block & Philipp Sandner & Marcus Wagner & Marc Weiglein, 2009. "Unternehmensgründungen von Ausländern in Deutschland: Einkommenseffekte und Implikationen für die Gründungslehre," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 196, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    7. Joachim Wagner, 2005. "Der Noth gehorchend, nicht dem eignen Trieb Nascent Necessity and Opportunity Entrepreneurs in Germany Evidence from the Regional Entrepreneurship Monitor (REM)," Working Paper Series in Economics 10, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    8. Matthias Benz & Bruno S. Frey, 2008. "Being Independent is a Great Thing: Subjective Evaluations of Self‐Employment and Hierarchy," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(298), pages 362-383, May.
    9. Koellinger, Philipp & Minniti, Maria & Schade, Christian, 2007. ""I think I can, I think I can": Overconfidence and entrepreneurial behavior," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 502-527, August.
    10. Yannis Georgellis & Howard Wall, 2005. "Gender differences in self-employment," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-342.
    11. Edward P. Lazear & Robert L. Moore, 1984. "Incentives, Productivity, and Labor Contracts," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 99(2), pages 275-296.
    12. Joop Hartog & Mirjam Van Praag & Justin Van Der Sluis, 2010. "If You Are So Smart, Why Aren't You an Entrepreneur? Returns to Cognitive and Social Ability: Entrepreneurs Versus Employees," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 947-989, December.
    13. Douhan, Robin & van Praag, Mirjam C., 2009. "Entrepreneurship, Wage Employment and Control in an Occupational Choice Framework," IZA Discussion Papers 4211, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Roy Thurik & Isabel Grilo, 2005. "Latent and actual entrepreneurship in Europe and the US: some recent developments," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-24, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
    15. Joachim Wagner, 2005. "Nascent Necessity and Opportunity Entrepreneurs in Germany. Evidence from the Regional Entrepreneurship Monitor (REM)," Labor and Demography 0506004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. van Praag, Mirjam C. & van Witteloostuijn, Arjen & van der Sluis, Justin, 2009. "Returns for Entrepreneurs vs. Employees: The Effect of Education and Personal Control on the Relative Performance of Entrepreneurs vs. Wage Employees," IZA Discussion Papers 4628, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Heiko Bergmann & Rolf Sternberg, 2007. "The Changing Face of Entrepreneurship in Germany," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 205-221, March.
    18. Parker,Simon C., 2006. "The Economics of Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521030632, November.
    19. Barton H. Hamilton, 2000. "Does Entrepreneurship Pay? An Empirical Analysis of the Returns to Self-Employment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 604-631, June.
    20. Lazear, Edward P, 1981. "Agency, Earnings Profiles, Productivity, and Hours Restrictions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(4), pages 606-620, September.
    21. Gary S. Becker, 1962. "Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: Investment in Human Beings, pages 9-49, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Daiji Kawaguchi, 2002. "Compensating Wage Differentials among Self-Employed Workers:Evidence from Job Satisfaction Scores," ISER Discussion Paper 0568, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    23. Joachim Wagner, 2005. "Nascent and Infant Entrepreneurs in Germany. Evidence from the Regional Entrepreneurship Monitor (REM)," Working Paper Series in Economics 1, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    24. Jensen & Shore, 2008. "Changes in the Distribution of Income Volatility," 2008 Meeting Papers 82, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    25. Mats Hammarstedt, 2009. "Predicted earnings and the propensity for self‐employment," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(4), pages 349-359, July.
    26. WILLIAMS Donald R., 2002. "Returns to education and experience in self-employment: Evidence from Germany," IRISS Working Paper Series 2002-04, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD.
    27. Edvard Johansson, 2000. "Self-employment and the predicted earnings differential - evidence from Finland," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 45-55, Spring.
    28. Shane T. Jensen & Stephen H. Shore, 2008. "Changes in the Distribution of Income Volatility," Papers 0808.1090, arXiv.org.
    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. Alina Sorgner & Michael Fritsch & Alexander Kritikos, 2017. "Do entrepreneurs really earn less?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 251-272, August.
    2. Lechmann, Daniel S. J., 2013. "Can working conditions explain the return-to-entrepreneurship puzzle?," Discussion Papers 86, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    3. Smaranda Pantea, 2022. "Self-employment in the EU: quality work, precarious work or both?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 403-418, January.
    4. Mirko Felchner, 2015. "Einkommensdynamik bei Selbständigen als Freie Berufe und abhängig Beschäftigte Eine dynamische Paneldatenschätzung mit Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels," FFB-Discussionpaper 101, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)), LEUPHANA University Lüneburg.
    5. Daniel S. J. Lechmann, 2015. "Can working conditions explain the return-to-entrepreneurship puzzle? [Können Arbeitsbedingungen das „return-to-entrepreneurship puzzle“ erklären?]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 48(4), pages 271-286, December.

    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. Fossen, Frank M. & Büttner, Tobias J.M., 2013. "The returns to education for opportunity entrepreneurs, necessity entrepreneurs, and paid employees," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 66-84.
    2. Jörn Block & Philipp Sandner, 2009. "Necessity and Opportunity Entrepreneurs and Their Duration in Self-employment: Evidence from German Micro Data," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 117-137, June.
    3. Renaud Bourlès & Anastasia Cozarenco, 2018. "Entrepreneurial motivation and business performance: evidence from a French Microfinance Institution," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 943-963, December.
    4. Åstebro, Thomas & Chen, Jing, 2014. "The entrepreneurial earnings puzzle: Mismeasurement or real?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 88-105.
    5. Block, Joern & Sandner, Philipp, 2006. "The Effect of Motivation on Self-Employment Duration in Germany: Necessity versus Opportunity Entrepreneurs," MPRA Paper 215, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Nardo Vries & Werner Liebregts & André Stel, 2020. "Explaining entrepreneurial performance of solo self-employed from a motivational perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 447-460, August.
    7. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    8. Joern H. Block & Marcus Wagner, 2010. "Necessity and Opportunity Entrepreneurs in Germany: Characteristics and Earning s Differentials," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 62(2), pages 154-174, April.
    9. Alina Sorgner & Michael Fritsch & Alexander Kritikos, 2017. "Do entrepreneurs really earn less?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 251-272, August.
    10. Jolanda Hessels & Brigitte Hoogendoorn & Peter van der Zwan & Nardo de Vries, 2013. "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor The Netherlands 2012," Scales Research Reports H201314, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    11. Werner Boente & Monika Jarosch, 2011. "Gender Differences in Competitiveness, Risk Tolerance, and other Personality Traits: Do they contribute to the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship?," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp11012, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    12. Werner Bönte & Monika Piegeler, 2013. "Gender gap in latent and nascent entrepreneurship: driven by competitiveness," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 961-987, December.
    13. Arndt Werner & Johanna Gast & Sascha Kraus, 2014. "The effect of working time preferences and fair wage perceptions on entrepreneurial intentions among employees," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 137-160, June.
    14. Koch, Michael & Park, Sarah & Zahra, Shaker A., 2021. "Career patterns in self-employment and career success," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    15. Niclas Lavesson, 2018. "How does distance to urban centres influence necessity and opportunity‐based firm start‐ups?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(4), pages 1279-1303, November.
    16. Werner, Arndt, 2011. "Abbruch und Aufschub von Gründungsvorhaben: Eine empirische Analyse mit den Daten des Gründerpanels des IfM Bonn," IfM-Materialien 209, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    17. Guido Buenstorf, 2009. "Opportunity spin-offs and necessity spin-offs," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(1), pages 22-40.
    18. Julie Ann Elston & Alois Weidinger, 2019. "Entrepreneurial intention and regional internationalization in China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 1001-1015, December.
    19. Roy Thurik, 2014. "Entrepreneurship and the business cycle," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-90, October.
    20. Peter Zwan & Roy Thurik & Ingrid Verheul & Jolanda Hessels, 2016. "Factors influencing the entrepreneurial engagement of opportunity and necessity entrepreneurs," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 6(3), pages 273-295, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Self-employment; Human Capital; Earnings; GSOEP; Entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:diw:diwsop:diw_sp537. 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: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sodiwde.html .

    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.