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This article investigates the degree of involuntariness in the entrepreneurial activity of the dependent solo self-employed, as well as its association with the country's wealth and labour market institutions. Using the unique information available in the 2017 European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) for 29 countries, we can properly identify the dependent solo self-employed and analyse to what extent they behave in accordance with an occupational choice model when making their self-employment decision. For that, we account for the reasons why they enter into self-employment (voluntarily or involuntarily either out of necessity or requested by the former employer). The results indicate that involuntary self-employment, mostly due to being required by previous employer, significantly increases the probability of being dependent solo versus non-dependent self-employed. The wealthiest countries have a lower incidence of this group of workers, mainly if they are involuntary self-employed. Moreover, labour market institutions that decrease the flexibility of paid employment tend to increase the incidence of dependent solo self-employment. These results point to this group of workers being particularly vulnerable with the degree of vulnerability significantly increasing for those self-employed with a lesser degree of occupational choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Data used to compute species trends can be used to evaluate site-specific trends. • Site-based analyses confirmed declining bird trends consistent among methods. • Site-based analyses provide further details on causes of bird conservation failure. • Targeted evaluations are needed to further complement monitoring schemes. Conservation of Europe's biodiversity increasingly depends on funds invested within Natura 2000 farmland. Performance of these investments is estimated by the official Farmland Bird Index indicator, that merges species-specific trends for farmland species estimated with the standard TRIM method. We here reanalyze the long-term datasets used to calculate the Spanish Farmland Bird Index by computing abundance and richness of selected bird groups at the point census scale rather than by merging species' trends. We test whether community trends at site scales differed according to agricultural habitat types (annual, perennial, and mosaic croplands) and locations inside or outside Natura 2000 sites, using both the TRIM method and generalized mixed models. Site-based analyses showed a general increase in bird abundance and richness outside the Natura 2000 network, and a general decrease in perennial and mosaic croplands inside it. Increasing trends were due to non-farmland birds occupying farmland, as farmland species showed significant decreasing trends overall, especially inside Natura 2000 sites and for steppic birds. Trends for threatened birds in annual cropland located inside Nature 2000 were positive, but trends for threatened farmland birds were negative overall, especially in mosaic croplands. Results were qualitatively consistent among statistical methods, although quantitative estimates varied widely among methods, habitats, Natura 2000 location, and relevant bird groups. Site-based analyses of long-term databases confirmed overall trends detected by species-based official reports, and complement them by suggesting additional reasons for failures at reverting negative trends in farmland biodiversity. Regionally-targeted conservation measures should be developed and/or extended to improve these results, and their results monitored at the farm scale to complement the low spatial resolution of volunteer-based bird monitoring schemes. Combination of broad–scale citizen science programs with cause-effect, finer-scale studies will help disentangle the causes of the observed patterns to develop better and more efficient recommendations for conservation measures in farmland areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]