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The Value of Autonomy: Evidence from the Self-Employed in 23 Countries

Matthias Benz
University of Zurich - Faculty of Business Administration - Institute for Empirical Research in Economics (IEW)

Bruno S. Frey
University of Zurich - Faculty of Business Administration - Institute for Empirical Research in Economics (IEW); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

Institute for Empirical Research in Economics Working Paper No. 173

Abstract:
The self-employed are substantially more satisfied with their work than employed persons. We document this relationship for 23 countries and show that the higher job satisfaction can directly be attributed to the greater autonomy that self-employed persons enjoy. "Being your own boss" seems to provide non-pecuniary benefits from work that point to the existence of procedural utility: autonomy is valued beyond outcomes as a good decision-making procedure. The results hold not only for Western European, North American and former communist Eastern European
countries, but largely also for countries with a non-western cultural background.

Keywords: self-employment, autonomy, job satisfaction, procedural utility

JEL Classifications: D00, M54, J23, J81, L22

Working Paper Series

Date posted: January 04, 2004 ; Last revised: January 04, 2004

Suggested Citation

Benz, Matthias and Frey, Bruno S., The Value of Autonomy: Evidence from the Self-Employed in 23 Countries. Institute for Empirical Research in Economics Working Paper No. 173. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=475140

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Contact Information

Matthias Benz (Contact Author) University of Zurich - Faculty of Business Administration - Institute for Empirical Research in Economics (IEW) ( email ) Bluemlisalpstrasse 10 CH-8006 Zurich 8006 Switzerland
Bruno S. Frey University of Zurich - Faculty of Business Administration - Institute for Empirical Research in Economics (IEW) ( email ) Winterthurerstrasse 30 CH-8006 Zurich Switzerland +41 44 634 37 31 (Phone) +41 44 634 35 99 (Fax)
CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research) Poschinger Str. 5 DE-81679 Munich Germany HOME PAGE: http://www.CESifo.de
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( email ) Zürichbergstrasse 18 8092 Zurich CH-1015 Switzerland