The within occupation and industry component of the immigrant-native gap in U.S. self-employment rates

This paper examines whether the higher self-employment rates among U.S. immigrants, relative to native-born Americans, can be accounted for by immigrants being over-represented in occupations and industries that are commonly pursued through self-employment. After accounting for detailed occupations and industries, approximately 58% of the immigrant-native gap in self-employment rates remains. This finding suggests that the higher self-employment rate among immigrants is driven by factors that influence the likelihood of pursuing self-employment in and of itself, rather than factors that act indirectly by driving immigrants towards occupations and industries that are commonly associated with self-employment.