This paper examines the pattern of U.K. self-employment income inequality between 1976 and 1991, and develops a simple model of the size distribution. Inequality measures are related to the parameters of this distribution, whose economic determinants are explained. It is found that the principal...

Employees are significantly more likely to quit small rather than large firms to found new ventures. I examine empirically three alternative theories that might explain this finding: a transmission theory; a blocked mobility theory; and self-selection of workers. A representative sample of...

This paper applies the techniques of stochastic optimal control to the problem of price-taking agents choosing the optimal balance between self-employment and paid employment. The two principal innovations are the development of an intertemporal optimizing model for heterogeneous agents under...