In this book, the author empirically studies what influences the income of the self-employed in the European Union. She questions if the differences between the self-employed and employees are intensified by prevailing institutional circumstances. Her analysis focuses on individual and welfare state factors which might influence the level of income, mobility and polarisation of the self-employed in the European Union. In contrast to other studies in this field, this analysis uses quantile regression, probit models with endogenous selection and MM estimators. The analysis is based on data from the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). The study shows that, on the whole, income depends on individual characteristics, whereas welfare state patterns hardly play a role.