Factor empresarial y composición sectorial

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to shed new evidence not only about the relationship of self-employment to the businss cycle but also if this relationship is similar across the economic sectors. To this end, we have done several econometric exercises in order to get some answer to the hypotheses previously discussed. The first chapter try to show how is the relationship between economic growth and self-employment for 23 OECD countries for the period 1972-2009. To carry out this task we study if this relationship follows an U-shape pattern, that is, if self- employment is reduced in the early stages of development mainly due to the abandonment of this occupation by the existence of better paid employment offers, for once crossed a certain level of income, profit opportunities are increased, and therefore, the number of self-employed increases. To test the linear relationship between two variables (GDP and self- employment rate) we allow the existence of breaks in the relationship. The evidence shows how the U-shape pattern is not confirmed for a large number of economies. In the second chapter, (already including sectoral analysis), and using spanish data, we test if self-employed (depending on the sector where they perform those activities) are more or less sensitive to economic cycles (expansions and recessions). Using quarterly data since 1987 and using Vector Autoregressive (VAR), variance decomposition and impulse-response functions, results shows that exist significant differences in the relationship of the self-employed in different sectors of the Spanish economy with the economic cycle . In the third chapter, we focus on the co-movements between different occupations by sector in the Spanish economy, that is, we are interested in the relationship between sectors (agriculture, construction, industry and services) and occupations (employees and self-employed). The methodology used is proposed by Den Haan (2000), with quarterly data since 1987, and the evidence shows that there is a great relationship (co-movement) between the self-employed in the industrial and construction sector with employees of services sector. Finally, the last chapter analyzes the possible outcomes of the self-employed (self-employed) during periods of crisis. In these periods, the self-employed while reducing their production, switch to unemployed or paid employment, are able to redirect their business to other more resistant to economic downturns sectors. Using discrete choice models with multinomial dependent variable using microdata Household Panel EU-15 (ECHP) 1994-2001. Our results suggest that the activity sector plays a fundamental role in determining transitions from self-employment in general and inter-sectoral employment within transitions on their own, in particular. Being the self-employed in the industrial sector that has a higher probability of moving to another sector remaining within the self-employment.