Self-employment in the UK regions

Abstract

The significant regional variations which exist in the rate of self-employment among UK males are highlighted and attempts made to explain them. Using pooled crosssection time-series data for the period 1973 - 93, it is found that in the long run, regional rates of self-employmentare a function of the real value of net housing wealth and the industry composition of regional GDP. However, a significant proportion of regional variations in self-employment can only be explained by regional 'fixed effects', which reflect fundamental long-term influences which make some regions more fertile environments for self-employment than others.