He identified a second aspect of this lag in what he called the “considerable anomaly” of the Italian case: the large share of self-employed workers in nonfarm employment. According to the labour force survey, in 2005 self-employment accounted for 27 per cent of total employment, against an EU average of 15 per cent (Figure 5). Among European countries, only Greece had a higher percentage.
What are the causes of this disparity? Self-employment is a composite phenomenon. It includes highincome entrepreneurial activities and professions, but also marginal activities comparable to payroll jobs but with lower pay and less protection. Institutional regulation of the product and labour markets influences self-employment in many ways, including by creating barriers that protect rents and generating incentives to evade the rules.