Abstract
AbstractThis paper provides a review of the profiles of the subsistence entrepreneurs and their constraints, and the landscape of current entrepreneurship programs and the evidence on impacts, and discusses the potential role of public policies for the livelihoods of subsistence entrepreneurs. Worldwide over a half of workers are self-employed, but a significant fraction of these self-employed jobs are of low productivity subsistence entrepreneurs. The focus of the entrepreneurship programs to support these self-employed in poverty is to improve their livelihoods rather than promoting cutting-edge innovation and business growth. Evidence of successful programs is limited and program designs often seem ill suited to the needs and characteristics of these subsistence entrepreneurs. Given the market failures faced by subsistence entrepreneurs, interventions that complement safety net programs with well-targeted support to promote productive self-employment may hold some promise.Jel codes: O12, O16, J24
Highlights
Worldwide around 55 percent of workers are self-employed, and about three-quarters of these are likely to be subsistence entrepreneurs (Gindling and Newhouse, 2014)
This paper discusses the potential public policy role of programs aimed at improving the livelihoods of subsistence entrepreneurs
Women may face more stringent constraints in skills acquisition and business operation, and control over finances often reverts to men even if women are business owners or recipients of microcredits.15. These results suggest that programs need to be better tailored to address the constraints facing self-employed females
Summary
Worldwide around 55 percent of workers are self-employed, and about three-quarters of these are likely to be subsistence entrepreneurs (Gindling and Newhouse, 2014). Special attention should be paid to eligibility, targeting, and profiling mechanisms; selection of businesses to be supported; adaptation of core interventions (training, access to finance, advisory and mentoring services, and networking) to beneficiary needs; whether and how programs are integrated into subsectors and/or value chains; and delivery mechanisms for different services.
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