Descripción del proyecto
THE GREAT RECESSION ILLUSTRATED THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A FLEXIBLE LABOR MARKET TO MITIGATE EMPLOYMENT LOSSES, THE OBSERVED DYNAMICS DURING THE RECOVERY PHASE PREVIOUS TO THE GREAT LOCKDOWN, WAS CHARACTERIZED BY (I) A PERSISTENT AND HIGH SELF-EMPLOYMENT RATE; (II) A CHRONIFICATION OF UNDEREMPLOYMENT, NOT ONLY IN THE PAID-EMPLOYMENT SECTOR, BUT ALSO AMONG SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS; (III) AN INCREASE IN SOLO SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND INVOLUNTARY PART TIME EMPLOYMENT, NOT ONLY IN LOW-PAID JOBS, REFLECTING A SHIFT IN THE CONTRACTUAL NATURE OF WORK ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF OCCUPATIONS; AND (IV) AN INCREASE IN TRANSITIONS FROM UNEMPLOYMENT OR INACTIVITY TO SELF-EMPLOYMENT AS AN STEPPING-STONE TO ACCESS TO A FULL-TIME JOB, THUS, IT MAY BE ARGUED THAT BEFORE THE COVID-19 CRISIS, UNEMPLOYMENT WAS DIMINISHING BECAUSE INVOLUNTARY SELF-EMPLOYMENT NON-GENUINE ENTREPRENEURS AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT WERE INCREASING, IN THIS REGARD, IT IS PARADOXICAL THAT UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT SHOWED PERSISTENCE IN SEVERAL ADVANCED COUNTRIES INCLUDING THOSE ONES OPERATING CLOSE TO FULL EMPLOYMENT, IN THIS CONTEXT, THE RESILIENCE OF MARGINAL SELF-EMPLOYED AND INVOLUNTARY PART-TIME WORKERS COULD BE INTERPRETED AS A SYMPTOM OF A LACK OF OPPORTUNITY IN THE TRADITIONAL EMPLOYEEEMPLOYER LABOR MARKET, BUT ALSO, THE PERSISTENCE OF THESE UNUSUALLY HIGH LEVELS OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT MAY REFLECT LABOR MARKET CHANGES THAT ARE PERSISTENT AND INDEPENDENT OF THE CYCLE, SUCH AS THE GROWTH OF THE GIG ECONOMY OR THE INTERACTION BETWEEN RIGIDITIES ASSOCIATED TO SOME LABOR MARKET INSTITUTIONS AND LABOR MARKET REFORMS, THE GREATER STRINGENCY OF REGULATIONS FOR FULL-EMPLOYMENT WORK IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF INVOLUNTARY TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT, PARTICULARLY AMONG LOWER EMPLOYABILITY GROUPS,THESE TRENDS OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT HAS BEEN CONSOLIDATED DURING THE GREAT LOCKDOWN, PARTICULARLY IN THOSE COUNTRIES WITH GREATER STRINGENCY OF REGULATIONS FOR FULL-EMPLOYMENT WORK, MITIGATING THE EMPLOYMENT LOSSES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, IN THIS CONTEXT, GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE INTRODUCED SCHEMES TO PROTECT THE SURVIVAL OF SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS, UNLIKE PREVIOUS DOWNTURNS, WHEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP POLICY PROMOTED THE ENTRY OF NEW SELF-EMPLOYED BUT ABANDONED EXISTING FIRMS, POLICY-MAKERS NOW SEEM TO HAVE RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR AN ACTIVE POLICY TO COUNTER THE EFFECTS OF THE CRISIS, DEVISING BENEFITS FOR SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT INCOME SUPPORT SCHEMES, UNDER THE ASSUMPTION OF THE SHOCK BEING TEMPORARY, HOWEVER, THESE SUPPORT SCHEMES HAVE BEEN HORIZONTAL AIDS -NON-DIFFERENTIATED BY INDUSTRY AND WITHOUT A COUNTERPART FROM THE SELF-EMPLOYED WORKER SIDE, LEAVING ASIDE THE FORGONE OPPORTUNITY TO TURN THE ECONOMY IN MORE COMPETITIVE ONE FOR INSTANCE BY INTRODUCING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ASSOCIATED TO THESE AIDS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF THESE SCHEMES NOT ONLY IN THE SHORT BUT ALSO IN THE LONG TERM, IN THIS CONTEXT, THE MAIN AIM OF THIS PROPOSAL, THAT IS IN LINE WITH CHALLENGE 6 "SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES AND SCIENCE WITH AND FOR SOCIETY", IS TO PERFORM AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED PHENOMENON, EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF THE GREAT LOCKDOWN ON SELF-EMPLOYMENT, WITH A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON GENDER, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE ISSUES, AND RECOGNIZING EXPLICITLY ITS HETEROGENEOUS CHARACTER, MERCADO LABORAL\CONFINAMIENTO\AUTOEMPLEO\CICLOS\GENERO\SOSTENIBILIDAD\RESILIENCIA\PERSISTENCIA\INSTITUCIONES DEL MERCADO DE TRABAJO