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The Deconstruction of Employment as a Political Question pp 149–178Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Self-Employment and the Transformation of Employment Relationships in Europe

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Abstract

Self-employment represents a lesser, and yet nonetheless widespread, form of employment in the European Union. It has often been described as a sign of economic backwardness or as the survival of traditional economic structures. However, particularly in the wake of the economic crisis, self-employment has recently become an important topic in both public debate and employment policies. Starting out from an analysis of the extent of, and recent changes in, self-employment in Europe, this article describes some of the features and tensions which characterise this form of employment. The description of these aspects is proposed as a connecting thread for identifying and discussing other major changes and developments that could have an impact on employment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad Departamental de Sociología Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Complutense University of Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, Madrid, Spain

    Alberto Riesco-Sanz

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  1. Alberto Riesco-Sanz
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Complutense University of Madrid, TRANSOC Research Institute, Madrid, Spain

    Amparo Serrano-Pascual

  2. Free University of Brussels, European Trade Union Institute, Brussels, Belgium

    Maria Jepsen

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Riesco-Sanz, A. (2019). Self-Employment and the Transformation of Employment Relationships in Europe. In: Serrano-Pascual, A., Jepsen, M. (eds) The Deconstruction of Employment as a Political Question. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93617-8_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93617-8_7

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