This book chapter examines self-employment among people aged 50 and over in the liberal market economies of Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA against the backdrop of the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and in the context of long-standing efforts aimed at increasing levels of older workers’ labour force participation. It features in the new Research Handbook on Self-Employment and Public Policy, edited by Wieteke Conen and Enrico Reuter.

Self-employment has been popularized amid efforts to prolong working lives, yet this standpoint has drawn criticism for overlooking the realities for many. We explore trends in self-employment in the lead up to and during the global pandemic, drawing from a range of data sources and literature across these countries. In doing so, we identify broad themes that are shared across these liberal market economies while offering potential avenues for further enquiry.