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Kuhn, Renate (2019): Riesiges Potenzial für legale Arbeit in Privathaushalten. Schwarzarbeit in privaten Haushalten zurückdrängen. In: Soziale Sicherheit, Jg. 66, H. 11, S. 411-418.

Abstract

"Putzen, Bügeln, Rasenmähen, Kinderbetreuung... Schätzungen gehen davon aus, dass zwischen drei und vier Millionen private Haushalte solche und andere Dienstleistungen in Anspruch nehmen. Doch nur wenige haben ihre Haushaltshilfen angemeldet. Die meisten Hilfskräfte im Haushalt werden schwarz beschäftigt. Wie hoch ist der Anteil der Schwarzarbeit? Was sind die Ursachen dafür? Und wie könnte die Schwarzarbeit in Privathaushalten zurückgedrängt werden?" (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Abraham, Katharine G. & Ashley Amaya (2018): Probing for informal work activity. (NBER working paper 24880), Cambrige, Mass., 48 S. DOI:10.3386/w24880

Abstract

"The Current Population Survey (CPS) is the source of official U.S. labor force statistics. The wording of the CPS employment questions may not always cue respondents to include informal work in their responses, especially when providing proxy reports about other household members. In a survey experiment conducted using a sample of Mechanical Turk respondents, additional probing identified a substantial amount of informal work activity not captured by the CPS employment questions, both among those with no employment and among those categorized as employed based on answers to the CPS questions. Among respondents providing a proxy report for another household member, the share identifying additional work was systematically greater among those receiving a detailed probe that offered examples of types of informal work than among those receiving a simpler global probe. Similar differences between the effects of the detailed and the global probe were observed when respondents answered for themselves only among those who had already reported multiple jobs. The findings suggest that additional probing could improve estimates of employment and multiple job holding in the CPS and other household surveys, but that how the probe is worded is likely to be important." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Berger, Wolfram, Simone Salotti & Jordi Sardà (2018): Do fiscal decentralization and income inequality affect the size of the shadow economy? A panel data analysis for OECD countries. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 25, H. 8, S. 571-575. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2017.1346356

Abstract

"In this article, we study fiscal decentralization and inequality as driving forces of the shadow economy in advanced economies. Our empirical analysis suggests that a reduction in income inequality will contain the shadow economy, whereas expenditure and tax decentralization do not significantly impact it. As decentralization is generally believed to increase government efficiency, this result is indicative of already highly efficient public administrations. Our results further indicate that redistributive policies positively affect the size of the shadow economy, whereas the tax burden does not have any discernible effect on the shadow economy in our sample." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bracha, Anat & Mary A. Burke (2018): Wage inflation and informal work. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 171, H. October, S. 159-163. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2018.07.033

Abstract

"Despite the low unemployment rate in the United States, wage inflation has remained modest. This paper investigates whether hidden labor market slack in the form of informal 'gig' economy work could help explain this puzzle. Using our Survey of Informal Work Participation for 2015 - 2016 we find that informal labor is negatively associated with wage growth at the census division level, while no such association exists between wage growth and unemployment rates." (Author's abstract, © 2018 Elsevier) ((en))

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Bulmer, Elizabeth Ruppert (2018): Defining informality vs mitigating its negative effects. More important than defining and measuring informality is focusing on reducing its detrimental consequences. (IZA world of labor 442), Bonn, 12 S. DOI:10.15185/izawol.442

Abstract

"Eine einheitliche Definition von Informalität zu finden, ist angesichts der komplexen Wirklichkeit der informellen Wirtschaft kaum möglich. Gleichzeitig erschweren fehlende Erfassung und hohe Dunkelziffern eine korrekte Messung. Folgt die Definition zu sehr den verfügbaren Daten, droht die Gefahr falscher Politikantworten auf die Negativeffekte von Informalität hinsichtlich Produktivität, Einkommen, Arbeitsbedingungen und Anfälligkeit gegenüber Einkommensschocks. Die Politik sollte sich deshalb darauf konzentrieren, die von diesen Auswirkungen besonders Betroffenen zu identifizieren und die jeweiligen Problemfelder mit spezifischen, gezielten Maßnahmen angehen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Coric, Bruno (2018): The glass ceiling puzzle, legal institutions, and the shadow economy. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 24, H. 4, S. 56-82. DOI:10.1080/13545701.2018.1456672

Abstract

"Scholarly studies in economics, sociology, psychology, and management emphasize the low number of women in management as one of the main indicators of gender discrimination in the labor market. This study investigates the differences in the percentage of women in senior management across forty-five countries. The results of the regression analysis show that women are more represented in senior management in developing countries than in so-called 'liberal Western democracies.' Women also participate more in senior management in countries in which prejudice and discrimination against women are greater. The study presents empirical evidence for two economic explanations for these puzzling results: the weak functioning of the legal system and the large size of the shadow economy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dietrich, Hans & Alexander Patzina (2018): Bogus self-employment in Germany. Also a question of definition. In: IAB-Forum H. 03.04.2018, o. Sz., 2018-03-28.

Abstract

"Based on a large-scale empirical study with 30,000 participants, the IAB explored the dissemination of bogus self-employment in Germany. In particular, the study analyses which labour market groups are over average affected by bogus self-employment as an illegal form of employment. The study employs alternative legal definitions of employment to test the sensitivity of the results." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Enste, Dominik H. (2018): The shadow economy in industrial countries. Reducing the size of the shadow economy requires reducing its attractiveness while improving official institutions. (IZA world of labor 127), Bonn, 11 S. DOI:10.15185/izawol.127.v2

Abstract

"Schattenwirtschaft ist kein rein ökonomisches Problem, das sich mit der Bekämpfung ihrer Symptome durch Strafen und Kontrolle entschärfen ließe. Länderspezifische Analysen von Ursachen und Folgen sind erforderlich, um auf den Entwicklungsstand der jeweiligen Volkswirtschaft abgestimmte Politikmaßnahmen treffen zu können. Das Ausmaß von Schwarzarbeit ist ein Gradmesser für die Notwendigkeit, die Attraktivität von Schattenwirtschaft mit angemessenerer Regulierung, fairerer Besteuerung und verantwortungsvoller Regierungsführung einzudämmen. Illegale Beschäftigung, Korruption und organisierte Kriminalität bedürfen der Bekämpfung durch striktere Kontrolle und konsequentere Rechtsdurchsetzung." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Fedotenkov, Igor (2018): Corporate labour share of income and the shadow economy. A cross-country analysis. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 26, H. 4, S. 302-305. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2018.1467549

Abstract

"This article addresses a link between the size of the shadow economy and the corporate labour share of income in the European Union. Fixed individual and time effects models suggest that there is a negative link between these two indicators. The coefficients are statistically significant if we control for other variables related to labour markets, such as unemployment rates or strictness of employment protection (regular contracts). Depending on the exact model specification, our estimates suggest that an increase in the shadow economy by 1% of GDP results in a 0.5 - 1% decline in the labour share of income in the corporate sector." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Seifert, Stefan & Marica Valente (2018): An offer that you can't refuse? Agrimafias and migrant labor on vineyards in Southern Italy. (DIW-Diskussionspapiere 1735), Berlin, 33 S.

Abstract

"In the 2011 post-Arab Spring migration wave, over 64,000 migrants landed on the southern Italian coast, with many of them potentially working illegally on farms through caporalato, a widespread system of illegal recruitment of underpaid farm labor run by Italian agrimafias. To test this hypothesis, this paper evaluates the causal effects of the 2011 migration wave on reported labor productivity focusing on vineyards in southern Italy. Based on a dynamic panel data model, labor productivity is estimated to increase by about 11% on average for 2011 and 2012. We show that this corresponds to a total of around 10 million unreported work hours, or 21,000 full-time employees, in each year. We interpret this as an increase in employment of illegal workforce due to the migration wave. Magnitude, direction, and statistical significance of the effect are confirmed under various model specifications and using synthetic control and post-lasso approaches." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Two billion workers - representing 61.2 per cent of the world's employed population - are in informal employment.
The third edition of this work provides, for the first time, comparable estimates on the size of the informal economy and a statistical profile of informality in all its diversity at the global and regional levels. A common set of criteria to measure informal work has been applied to more than 100 countries, both developed and developing.
The publication is particularly timely given the momentum created by the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204) and the Sustainable Development Goals, which include a specific global indicator on informal employment (8.3.1)." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Afonso, Óscar & Francisco Almeida (2017): The nonobserved economy in the European Union. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 24, H. 1, S. 14-18. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2016.1158908

Abstract

"To better understand the share of the nonobserved economy (NOE) in the European Union, especially on the PIIGS, we estimate, through the multiple indicators multiple causes model, the path between 1980 and 2013. The model includes (i) the tax burden (disaggregated into direct and indirect taxes), a proxy of regulation burden, the unemployment rate and self-employment as causes of the NOE economy; (ii) the GDP and the labour force participation ratio as indicators of the NOE economy. In particular, the estimated weight of NOE as a percentage of official GDP was always higher in the PIIGS group." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Afonso, Óscar & Rui Sarabanda (2017): The impact of the informal economy on R&D, wage inequality and economic growth. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 24, H. 1, S. 39-44. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2016.1158913

Abstract

"We extend the existing research and development (R&D) growth literature by focusing on the short - medium - long run effects of the informal sector on R&D intensity, wage inequality and economic growth, and by considering 18 OECD countries between 1990 and 2008. We show that: the steady state is unique and stable; the share of informal economy (IE) in production affects negatively R&D intensity and wage equality; Nordic countries have the lowest share of IE in production, while Mediterranean countries have the highest share of IE, wage inequality and R&D intensity but R&D spillovers are lower." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Di Porto, Edoardo, Leandro Elia & Cristina Tealdi (2017): Informal work in a flexible labour market. In: Oxford economic papers, Jg. 69, H. 1, S. 143-164. DOI:10.1093/oep/gpw010

Abstract

"Informal employment is a pervasive and persistent feature of most developing and developed economies. Labour taxation and labour market regulations are deemed two major causes for operating in the informal sector. Using data from France, Italy, and Spain, we analyse gross job flows and gross worker flows in the formal and informal sectors in the presence of lenient employment protection legislation, and investigate the way traditional policy interventions may favour transitions from one sector to the other. We show that optimal outcomes in terms of reduction and formalisation of informal jobs across the three countries examined are achieved with the combination of lower payroll taxes for permanent contracts and higher inspection rate for firms operating in the informal sector. Coupling lower firing costs with more frequent labour inspections also reduces informality, but this comes at the cost of an increased ratio of temporary to total employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Enste, Dominik H. (2017): Schwarzarbeit und Schattenwirtschaft. Argumente und Fakten zur nicht angemeldeten Erwerbstätigkeit in Deutschland und Europa. (IW-Report / Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln 2017,09), Köln, 30 S.

Abstract

"Über Schwarzarbeit und Schattenwirtschaft wird vor allem in Zeiten von wirtschaftlichen Krisen gesprochen. Sie dienen dann als eine Art Puffer und gleichen die Härten einer Rezession gerade für Personen mit geringeren oder mittleren Einkommen aus. Gerade in Südeuropa ist Schattenwirtschaft weitverbreitet." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Feld, Lars P. & Friedrich Schneider (2017): Reply to Gebhard Kirchgässner. In: German economic review, Jg. 18, H. 1, S. 112-117. DOI:10.1111/geer.12097

Abstract

"In this reply to Kirchgässner, four issues are addressed: (1) the extent of double counting in attempts to reconcile estimates of the shadow economy based on the survey method and estimates based on the MIMIC (cum currency demand) approach, (2) advantages and disadvantages of the survey method, (3) of macro methods like the MIMIC approach and (4) the potential role of plausibility checks of estimates from the MIMIC approach with the survey method." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Goel, Rajeev K. & James W. Saunoris (2017): Unemployment and international shadow economy. Gender differences. In: Applied Economics, Jg. 49, H. 58, S. 5828-5840. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2017.1343452

Abstract

"Adding to the body of research on cross-country determinants of the informal economy, this article studies how unemployment differences across gender drive the propensities to work in the informal sector. Results, accounting for possible simultaneity between unemployment and the shadow economy, show that unemployed males, rather than unemployed females, were more likely to operate underground. These findings about greater male propensities are generally robust to alternative considerations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kirchgässner, Gebhard (2017): On estimating the size of the shadow economy. In: German economic review, Jg. 18, H. 1, S. 99-111. DOI:10.1111/geer.12094

Abstract

"As long as it is employed cautiously enough, the model approach is a useful tool to estimate simultaneously the size and the development of the shadow economy in several countries. However, a second method is necessary to calibrate the model. The currency demand approach can lead to highly implausible results; the size of the shadow economy might be largely overestimated. An alternative is the survey method. For real tests of whether a variable has an impact, procedures are necessary that do not use the same variables as those used to construct the indicator. Thus, to make progress in analysing the shadow economy, the model approach has a role to play, but it has to be complemented by other methods employing different data. The currency demand approach cannot be used as long as it employs the same variables for its constructions." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Mauleón, I. & J. Sardà (2017): Unemployment and the shadow economy. In: Applied Economics, Jg. 49, H. 37, S. 3729-3740. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2016.1267844

Abstract

"Current research links the shadow economy (SE) and the unemployment rate either indirectly or by means of a preliminary estimate. This article establishes and empirically implements a methodology for estimating the size of the SE as a direct function of the tax and unemployment rates. This link is found to be extremely relevant in countries with high unemployment rates (such as Greece and Spain) and less relevant in countries with moderate unemployment rates (such as Germany and Italy). Unemployment's contribution to the SE is shown to be significant, especially in the years following the economic downturn of 2008. The calculation of the variance and distribution of these estimates is another significant contribution. The common criticism that SE estimates are unreliable is addressed by calculating the variance and the distribution of the estimates, and the large size of the SE in Greece and Spain is once again confirmed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pfau-Effinger, Birgit (2017): Informal employment in the poor European periphery. In: The international journal of sociology and social policy, Jg. 37, H. 7/8, S. 387-399. DOI:10.1108/IJSSP-07-2016-0080

Abstract

"Purpose
During the transition from socialist to post-socialist regimes, many Central and Eastern Europe societies have developed a broad sector of informal work. This development has caused substantial economic and social problems. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper aims to answer two questions regarding European countries with a relatively weak economy and welfare state: what are the differences in the social characteristics between workers in formal and informal employment? And how might they be explained? According to the main assumption, a key reason why people work in undeclared employment in such countries is that they are in particularly vulnerable positions in the labour market. This paper uses the example of Moldova. The empirical study is based on a unique survey data set from the National Statistical Office of Moldova covering formal and informal employment.
Findings
The findings show that, in informal employment, workers in rural areas, workers with a low level of education, young workers and older workers - in the final years of their careers and after the age of retirement - are over-represented. It seems that a significant reason why these workers are often engaged in informal employment is the lack of alternatives in the labour market, particularly in rural areas, compounded by limited social benefits from unemployment benefits and pensions.
Originality/value
Research about social differences between workers in formal and informal employment in the countries of the European periphery is rare. This paper makes a new contribution to the theoretical debate and research regarding work in informal employment" (Author's abstract, © Emerald Group) ((en))