Do self-employment rates converge? Evidence from European OECD countries

This article uses panel data methods for stationary and non‐stationary data to examine whether self‐employment rates converge for 21 OECD European countries from 1990 to 2011 (the period covered by the COMPENDIA database). This article shows that there is a process of conditional convergence of self‐employment rates particularly within Southern, Northern and Western Europe. These regional groups were characterized by a decreasing trend in their average self‐employment rates. However in Central Europe we find more mixed results across the tests used and observe a rising trend in the average self‐employment rates. Finally, we find some weak evidence of convergence among all European countries.