Evaluation of self‐employment support policies using survival analysis. The discounted flat rate in Andalusia (Spain)

Abstract

The rise in unemployment during the economic recession led to widespread support for active labour market policies (ALMP) from public and private institutions. Among these measures, Spain has developed the so‐called discounted flat rate for self‐employed workers, which consists of a series of reductions and subsidies applied to their social security contributions when they start their activity. The aim of this study is to evaluate this policy in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (Spain), a region with an unemployment rate of over 20%, comparing the survival of a group of self‐employed workers who benefited from this subsidy with that of another group without the discounted flat rate. The results suggest the survival of the group with the subsidy surpasses that of the group without, although the positive effects of the measure disappear over the long term.