Self-employment: between freedom and insecurity

This chapter initiates the conversation between theory, methods, evidence and consequences of self-employment as precarious work. We conceptualize precarious employment in the context of self-employment and approach precarious work as an employment situation in which individuals or households are unable to fulfil fundamental physiological and security needs while working as self-employed. Throughout the book we emphasize three dimensions of precariousness which seem particularly relevant in the context of self-employment: income inadequacy while working (related to concepts such as in-work poverty, low-income households and financial resilience); a lack of adequate social benefits and regulatory protection (related to concepts such as false or bogus self-employment and social security provisions); and work with a high uncertainty of continuing work (related to concepts such as work insecurity, lack of employability and financial unrest). The chapter examines developments in Europe and illustrates the content and contributions in this book.