%0 Report
        %A Fritsch, Michael
%A Kritikos, Alexander S.
%A Sorgner, Alina
        %T Why Did Self-Employment Increase so Strongly in Germany?
        %D 2015
        %8 2015 Jan
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 8818
        %U https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp8818
        %X Germany experienced a unique rise in the level of self-employment in the first two decades following unification. Applying the non-linear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, we find that the main factors driving these changes in the overall level of self-employment are demographic developments, the shift towards service sector employment, and a larger share of population holding a tertiary degree. While these factors explain most of the development in self-employment with employees and the overall level of self-employment in West Germany, their explanatory power is much lower for the stronger increase of solo self-employment and of self-employment in former socialist East Germany.
        %K entrepreneurship
%K non-linear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique
%K self-employment
%K Germany