Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Self-Employment and Unemployment in Tunisia: Application of the ARDL Approach

Chiraz Feki, Sirine Mnif

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i7/6117

Open access

In the literature on the link between entrepreneurship and unemployment, self-employment is the most frequently used indicator for measuring entrepreneurship. The impact of unemployment on self-employment is known as the “refugee effect”. Conversely, the impact of self-employment on unemployment is known as the “entrepreneurial effect”. The relationship between the unemployment rate and self-employment is rather an ambiguous question in the economy. There are two counter arguments: the first is the theory of income choice argumentation, which suggests that increased unemployment may lead to an increase of self-employment activities, while the second argues that the increase of the unemployment rate may decrease human capital endowments and entrepreneurial capacity, which drives unemployment rates higher. The results of the existing studies are varied. The aim of this study is to determine the dynamic relationship between unemployment and self-employment in Tunisia during the period 1980-2015 using the ARDL (Auto Regressive Distributed Lag) approach. Tunisia supports positive impact of unemployment on self-employment and supports negative impact of self-employment on unemployment.

Alba-Ramirez, A. (1994). Self-employment in the midst of unemployment: the case of Spain and the United States. Applied Economics, 26: 189-204.
Aubry, M., Bonnet, J., & Renou-Maissant, P. (2015). Entrepreneurship and business cycle: the “Schumpeter” effect versus the “refugee” effect – a French appraisal based on regional data. Annals of Regional Science, 54: 23-55.
Audretsch, D. B. (2008). Does Self-employment Reduce Unemployment? Journal of Business Venturing, 23: 673-686.
Audresch, D. B., & Fritsch, M. (1994). The geography of firms births in Germany», Regional Studies. 28: 359-365.
Audresch, D. B., & Thurik, A. R. (2000). Capitalism and democracy in the 21st Century: from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 10: 17-34.
Audresch, D. B., Carree, M. A., Van Stel, A. J., & Thurik, A. R. (2005). Does self-employment reduce unemployment?. Scales Paper, 1-16.
Audretsch, D., Thurik, A. R., Verheul, I., & Wennekers, S. (2002). Entrepreneurship: Determinants and Policy in a European-US Comparison. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Audretsch, D. B., Houweling, P., & Thurik, A. R. (2004). Industry evolution: diversity, selection and the role of learning», International Small Business Journal. 22: 331-348.
Baptista, R., & Preto, M. T. (2007). The dynamics of causality between entrepreneurship and unemployment», International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management. 7: 215-224.
Blanchflower, D. G. (2000). Self-employment in OECD Countries. Labour Economics. 7: 471-505.
Blanchflower, D. B., & Oswald, A. J. (1998). What Makes an Entrepreneur ?. Journal of Labor Economics, 16: 26-60.
Bosma, N., & Acs, J. (2009). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Executive Report 2008, Babson University Press, Boston, 125.
Carree, M., Van Stel, A., Thurik, R., & Wennekers, S. (2002). Economic development and business ownership: an analysis using data of 23 OECD countries in the period 1976-1996. Small Business Economics, 19: 27-290.
Carree, M., Van Stel, A., Thurik, R., & Wennekers, S. (2007). The relationship between economic development and business ownership revisited. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 19 : 281-291.
Djaowe, J., & Bita, C. A. (2007). Le rôle des institutions de microfinance dans la création et le développement de la petite entreprise camerounaise. In Tsapi V. (Coord.), Création, développement, gestion de la petite entreprise africaine, Editions CLE, 55-80.
Evans, D. S., & Leighton, L. (1990). Small Business Formation by Unemployed and Employed Workers. Small Business Economics, 2: 319-330.
Fairlie, R. (2011). Entrepreneurship, economic conditions, and the great recession. IZA Discussion Paper, 5725:1-45.
Faria, J. R., Cuestas, J. C., & Mourelle, E. (2010). Entrepreneurship and unemployment: a nonlinear bidirectional causality? Economic Modelling, 27: 1282-1291.
Feki, C., & Mnif, S. (2016). Entrepreneurship, technological innovation and economic growth: empirical analysis of panel data. Journal of the Knowledge of Economy, 7, 4.
Garofoli, G. (1994). New firm formation and regional development: The Italian Case. Regional Studies, 28: 381-393.
Glocker, D., & Steiner, V. (2007). Self-employment: a way to end unemployment? Empirical evidence from German pseudo-panel data. IZA Discussion Paper, 2561: 1-25.
Highfield, R., & Smiley, R. (1987). New Business Starts and Economic Activity: An Empirical Investigation. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 5:51-66.
Knight, F. H. (1921). Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit. 1964 Edition, New York: Sentry Press.
Manser, M. E., & Picot, G. (1999). The Role of Self-employment in U.S. and Canadian Job Growth. Monthly Labor Review, April: 1-25.
Mnif, S. (2015). Impact of the Inequalities on the Technological Changes: Case of the Developing Countries. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, HRmars, 5(3).
Narayan, P. K. (2005). The saving and investment nexus for China: evidence from co

In-Text Citation: (Feki & Mnif, 2019)
To Cite this Article: Feki, C., & Mnif, S. (2019). Self-Employment and Unemployment in Tunisia: Application of the ARDL Approach. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(7), 285–296.