Rates of self-employment differ among ethnic groups, between men and women, and by place. Using the 2000 5% Public Use Microdata Samples and hierarchical regression modeling, I examine in this study how metropolitan labor-market characteristics influence the probability of self-employment among non-Hispanic whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians in the United States, separately for men and women. The results show that, after controlling for individual-level characteristics, metropolitan labor-market characteristics—including macroeconomic conditions, overall business structure, ethnic composition, and residential segregation—significantly influence self-employment patterns across ethnic and gender groups.
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