Formal Education and New Openings For Self-Employment Amongst Foreign-Born Persons in the Swedish Healthcare Sector

Abstract

This study contributes to the discussion on the value of education for self-employment among foreign-born persons in Sweden. The case of the deregulated healthcare sector is used to illustrate the importance of the acknowledgement of unaccustomed types of education with regards to a lack of access to the ordinary labour market and for starting a new business. Register-based data on all individuals in Sweden with an education in healthcare are used in the analysis. The overrepresentation of foreign-born persons amongst newly self-employed people is explained by what type of education they have, that is, a highly educated specialised occupation or educations at high and low levels that are classified as ‘other’ in the register.