Why the self-employed are happier: Evidence from 25 European countries

Using survey data from 25 European countries, we can show that in most of the countries the self-employed are more satisfied with their jobs than employees. This paper aims to discuss the reasons why this is the case. The results show that part of the differences in job satisfaction between employees and self-employed individuals are due to creativity and autonomy in self-employment. This suggests that our results are in line with procedural utility theory (Benz & Frey, 2004, 2008). In other words, especially self-employed individuals seem to derive utility from the way outcomes are achieved.