Self‐Employed But Looking: A Labour Market Experiment
25 Pages Posted: 24 Dec 2014
Date Written: January 2015
Abstract
We examine whether having previously been self‐employed is a negative signal on the job market. In a UK field experiment where two applications of otherwise equally qualified individuals were sent out in response to the same vacancies in human resource management, we find that entrepreneurs systematically receive fewer responses than non‐entrepreneurs. Empirical studies that treat market wages as the opportunity cost of remaining self‐employed are therefore likely to overestimate alternative earnings to entrepreneurship.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Koellinger, Philipp and Mell, Julija and Pohl, Irene and Roessler, Christian and Treffers, Theresa, Self‐Employed But Looking: A Labour Market Experiment (January 2015). Economica, Vol. 82, Issue 325, pp. 137-161, 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2542384 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ecca.12115
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