Even as self-employment continues to increase, policymakers remain largelyunaware of this trend and fail to see it as an opportunity for addressingenduring joblessness. In part, this is explained by limited data on theself-employed and by widespread perceptions that returns to self-employmentare low; that the self-employed are merely patching together piecemeal workopportunities requiring limited skills; and that there are no local economicimpacts or spillover benefits into other sectors. Contrary to theseperceptions, recent studies suggest that self-employment has tangiblepositive economic impacts not only on wage and salary employment but also onper capita income growth and poverty reduction. This article synthesizes thepertinent emerging literature and assesses dynamics of the lags involvedbetween self-employment shocks and subsequent employment growth.

Les infrastructures financières réduisent les coûts d’intermédiation des banques. Elles font diminuer l’imperfection de la concurrence bancaire issue de la différenciation horizontale et le coût du capital et font augmenter le nombre des déposants et l’épargne collectée. Un niveau d’infrastructures financières est optimal en terme de croissance ou de bien être économique. Il permet à certaines économies de sortir d’un piège à pauvreté.