Self-employment is widely viewed as an important engine of economic and employment growth. There is ongoing debate regarding the dynamic inverse relationship between self-employment and unemployment, with not all commentators convinced that more self-employment is a sign of progress. Changing business models such as franchising, outsourcing and growth in the number of small-scale production enterprises, driven by technological developments and diversification of consumption patterns, merit careful analysis as these are factors influencing self-employment and employment generally. Trends in self-employment are also studied to better understand the impact of tax regimes, access to capital and entrepreneurship on the pace of employment growth.​