Introduction to Research Handbook on Self-Employment and Public Policy shifting patterns and policy issues

The face of self-employment is undergoing profound changes worldwide. While self-employed labour is mainly declining in low- and middle-income economies, an actual increase can be observed in various high-income economies. In both the academic and policy literature there is an ongoing debate about whether and when self-employment, and growth of self-employment, is a positive or negative social and economic phenomenon. The aim of this book is to develop a base of facts that could be used to advance the quality and outcome of policy debates in the area of self-employment. The chapters all contribute in important ways to this new and growing field of scholarship. In this introductory chapter we start by outlining changing patterns in self-employment over time, we discuss earlier research on self-employment in relation to public policy and illustrate the content and contributions in this book.