A Cross-National Comparison of Self-employment Dynamics at Older Ages

According to data from the Health and Retirement Study and the English Longitudinal Study on Aging, self-employment rates rise with age, and at ages 60 and older, are over 30 percent. Using variation arising from differences in retirement, employment and health policies across countries, over time, and for groups of workers, we examine the effects of pensions and health insurance on transitions between self-employment, wage and salary work and retirement. Understanding why self-employed workers exit the labor force at older ages than wage and salary workers will inform policy on national employment rates and the solvency of Social Security.