Sociological Study on Occupational Mobility of the Self-Employed Workers

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K13695
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 08010:Sociology-related
• Research Institution: Meiji Gakuin University (2021-2023); The University of Tokyo (2020)
• Principal Investigator: NAKA Shuhei 明治学院大学, 社会学部, 准教授 (60732401)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 自営業 / フリーランス / 社会的不平等 / 職業移動 / 社会政策

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Work Style Reform Act enacted in June 2018 includes the "diverse forms of employment" as a national policy, and one of its features is that it recommends "a way of working that is not based on an employment relationship (self-employment)". However, the results of this research project show that self-employment may provide temporary career achievement, but does not guarantee career accumulation in later years. In particular, we show that the tendency for people to move into and out of self-employment in their youth and middle age is likely to change, and that career can lead to disparities and inequalities in the old age.

Free Research Field

社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は若年・壮年期の自営的な就労経験と高齢期の暮らし方の関係を解明することにより，社会学の社会階層論に資するものである．学術的意義と社会的意義は，自営的な就労経験をより長期的な視点から捉える調査設計に基づいて実証研究を進めた点に集約される．