Solo Self-employment and Wellbeing: An Overview of the Literature and an Empirical Illustration

Abstract

The present paper focuses on wellbeing levels of solo self-employed individuals. Although the wellbeing of self-employed workers has been addressed in various earlier studies, studies on the relationship between solo self-employment and wellbeing are rare. We provide an overview of the literature on self-employment and solo self-employment in relation to wellbeing. Moreover, we provide an empirical illustration using Australian longitudinal data showing, among others, that the solo self-employed are significantly more satisfied with leisure time but less satisfied with their income, compared to both wageworkers and employer entrepreneurs.