Ethnicity and Self‐Employment in Britain

Abstract

This paper investigates the ethnic dimension of self‐employment in the British labour market. It examines how both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors may lead members of non‐white, ethnic minority groups to enter self‐employment rather than paid‐employment. Push factors include discrimination in paid‐employment while pull factors refer to minority‐specific entrepreneurial opportunities. Data from the General Household Survey and 1991 Census are employed to evaluate the empirical relevance of these issues and to explore differences between ethnic groups. Evidence of both push and pull factors is found.