Online SPP Research Seminar: EU accession, transitional arrangements, and self-employment: No diversion after all?

This article investigates the effect of the transitional arrangements (temporary restrictions on dependent employment of migrants from the new member states) implemented after the enlargement rounds of 2004 and 2007 on the self-employment rates of EU8 and EU2 migrants in the EU15. Contrary to the common view that transitional arrangements have resulted in a rise in self-employment rates of migrants from the new member states, we find no such effects for neither of the two groups. However, we do find significant differences in these effects across Varieties of Capitalism regimes, with significantly larger negative effects on self-employment in the Continental regime than in any other regime.