Self‐employment or paid employment as the first job: Evidence from Spain by nationality

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to offer new empirical evidence for Spain about the transition into self‐employment or paid employment of potential entrants to the labor market and their duration in both segments of the market.

Design/methodology/approach

The econometric methodology consists of estimating discrete‐choice models and survival models, controlling for personal characteristics, job characteristics, and unobserved heterogeneity.

Findings

One of the main results of this paper is that the immigrants are a disadvantaged group with regard to entry into self‐employment as a first job. Moreover, once they enter self‐employment, they are more likely than native Spaniards to exit from it.

Practical implications

The results obtained in this paper are of interest to policy makers seeking to design economic policies that promote the assimilation of immigrants into the Spanish labor market.

Originality/value

The topic discussed in this paper and the distinction made by the workers according to nationality is unknown in economic literature in Spain.

Citation

Caparrós Ruiz, A. (2010), "Self‐employment or paid employment as the first job: Evidence from Spain by nationality", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 37 No. 12, pp. 951-969. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068291011083026