انگیزه شروع : سیاست کارآفرینی یا برنامه فعال بازار کار ؟

As several European governments develop new start-up programmes during recessions, the appropriateness of these policies recently has become a hot policy issue. This study suggests that the contribution of these incentives is dubious, if aimed to combat economic and jobs crises as part of the entrepreneurship policy, and can be shaped by various country-specific factors, such as the economic situation and the stringency of labour laws. To provide support for these claims, this paper investigates the underlying determinants of an individual's decision to switch from unemployment to self-employment in Europe and stresses the need to devote special attention to the role of three essential dimensions: (i) the existing heterogeneity within self-employment, by considering self-employed individuals who hire employees (employers) and self-employed individuals without personnel (own-account workers) as separated groups

The European entrepreneurship policy has traditionally highlighted the need to create the best possible micro and macro-environment for small business and entrepreneurship. However, as a clear sign of the distance between political speech and political action, its more remarkable initiatives have revealed a marked bias in favour of measures promoting transitions from unemployment to self-employment, which has been used as an instrument within the active labour market policies as a way to reduce unemployment. Nevertheless, because the self-employed can be considered a heterogeneous group, wherein only a minority hire other workers and/or are entrepreneurs in the sense of creating firms that generate both innovation and wealth, more self-employment is not necessarily better. Furthermore, entrepreneurs should not be viewed as isolated and autonomous decision makers but as actors involved in a particular micro and macro context. Understanding how these context-related factors may affect the relative weight of true entrepreneurs over other categories within self-employment could be crucial in improving the effectiveness of the measures aimed to stimulate self-employment among the unemployed.

As several European governments show a renewed interest in the development and implementation of new start-up programmes during recessions, the appropriateness of these policies is likely to enter the arena of present policy debate. Nevertheless, because the self-employed can be considered a heterogeneous group, among which only a minority of self-employed people contribute to job creation, economic growth and innovation, more self-employment is not necessarily better. Furthermore, entrepreneurs should not be viewed as isolated and autonomous decision makers but as actors involved in a particular micro and macro context. Understanding how these context-related factors may affect the relative weight of true entrepreneurs over other categories within self-employment could be crucial in improving the effectiveness of measures aimed to stimulate self-employment among the unemployed.