Self-Employment as Precarious Work: A European Perspective

Since the 1970s the long term decline in self-employment has slowed - and even reversed in some countries - and the prospect of 'being your own boss' is increasingly topical in the discourse of both the general public and within academia. Traditionally, self-employment has been associated with independent entrepreneurship, but increasingly it is linked to being a form of precarious work. This book utilises evidence-based information to address both the current and future challenges of this trend as the nature of self-employment changes, as well as to demonstrate where, when and why self-employment has emerged as precarious work in Europe. Bringing together leading international experts in the field, this book provides insight into key issues surrounding self-employment from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Covering existing theory and context, providing empirical results of studies into self-employment and precarious work from across Europe, and discussion of the implications of this research, it offers key insights into future avenues for research. Students of European studies and social policy, as well as policy makers and researchers with a particular interest in employment, self-employment and precarious work across Europe, will find the data and policy ideas presented in this book an invaluable read.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface 1. Self-Employment: Between Freedom and Insecurity Wieteke Conen and Joop Schippers PART I Do we have to worry about the ‘new self-employed’? Theory and Context 2. Labour Market Flexibility, Self-Employment and Precariousness Joop Schippers 3. Social Protection for the Self-Employed: an EU Legal Perspective Hanneke Bennaars 4. Self-Employment, Pensions and the Risk of Poverty in Old Age Uwe Fachinger PART II Self-Employment and Precarious Work in Europe: Empirical Results 5. Self-Employment: Independent ‘Enterprise’, or Precarious Low-skilled Work? The case of the UK Nigel Meager 6. Micro-Entrepreneurship and Changing Contours of Work: Towards Precarious Work Relations? Empirical Findings from Austria Dieter Bögenhold, Andrea Klinglmair, Zulaicha Parastuty and Florian Kandutsch 7. Precariousness and Social Risks among Solo Self-Employed in Germany and The Netherlands Wieteke Conen and Maarten Debets 8. Between Precariousness and Freedom: the Ambivalent Condition of Independent Professionals in Italy Paolo Borghi and Annalisa Murgia 9. Bogus Self-Employment in Sweden Dominique Anxo and Thomas Ericson 10. Precariousness among Older Self-Employed Workers in Europe Wieteke Conen 11. Migrant Self-Employment in Germany: On the Risks, Characteristics and Determinants of Precarious Work Stefan Berwing, Andrew Isaak and René Leicht PART III Implications and Future Research Agenda 12. The Matter of Representation: Precarious Self-Employment and Interest Organisations Giedo Jansen and Roderick Sluiter 13. The ‘New’ Self-Employed and Hybrid Forms of Employment: Challenges for Social Policies in Europe Karin Schulze Buschoff 14. Between Freedom and Insecurity: Future Challenges Joop Schippers and Wieteke Conen Index

About the Author :
Edited by Wieteke Conen, Senior Researcher, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies, University of Amsterdam and Joop Schippers, Professor of Labour Economics, Universiteit Utrecht, Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance and Affiliated Researcher, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, the Netherlands

Review :
‘The reviewed book represents a significant enrichment of the discussion on the topic of precarious self-employment. It is therefore recommended to a wide range of readers, especially to those wishing to gain insight and advance their knowledge in this field, while also being particularly relevant for researchers and policy makers.’