Labor market decision making in a context of dual economic and health uncertainty: empirical and theoretical approaches with applications to self-employed individuals who have had cancer.

Summary Health shocks have contrasting consequences on employment trajectories, depending as much on factors related to the epidemiology of the diseases as on factors of labor market organization. Cancer thus has both transitory and lasting effects on the activity and employment situation of those who survive it. Our in-depth study of the case of the self-employed shows that they are characterized by responses to illness that differentiate them from salaried workers in the frequency and duration of sick leave, but also in the process of maintaining employment. Some of these results are reducible to the character traits of the self-employed, such as their attitude to risk. These results are also related to the ways in which the self-employed participate in the labour market and the conditions under which they work, which are often less protected by social insurance schemes than salaried workers, because they are left to their own discretion. The studies used are the French cancer survey "VICAN 2" financed by INCa, the employment survey, and the American "HRS" survey. First of all, this thesis emphasizes the need to do qualitative and quantitative studies only on the self-employed, who differ substantially from salaried workers. The results also highlight that risk aversion is not an innate and stable characteristic. Empirical work, supported by theoretical modeling, shows that health shocks can cause individuals to reconsider their risk appetite, either downward (stable chronic diseases) or upward (cancer survival).