an article by Colin C. Williams (University of Sheffield, UK) and
Aysegul Kayaoglu (Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, Turkey) published in
Employee Relations Volume 39 Issue 4 (2017)
Abstract
Purpose
Until now, there has been scant evidence on the proportion and characteristics of employees working without a written contract or terms of employment. To begin to fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of employees without written contracts or terms of employment in the European Union (EU), examining whether they are unevenly distributed across countries and EU regions, and whether it is vulnerable population groups who are more likely to be without such written contracts.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2013 Eurobarometer survey comprising 11,025 face-to-face interviews with employees in the 28 member states of the EU (EU-28) is reported.
Findings
The finding is that it is less socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics, and more firm size, institutional environment and spatial factors that are important in explaining the prevalence of employment without a written contract. Thus, governments should address not individuals but rather the formal institutional failings and asymmetry between civic and state morality, in order to reduce the level of employment without a written contract, and focus their attention on smaller firms, larger towns and Southern European countries, especially Cyprus, Malta and Portugal.
Research limitations/implications
Future research needs to evaluate whether and how the conditions of employment (e.g. wage rates, health and safety conditions, holiday entitlements) of employees without written contracts or terms of employment differ to their equivalents who have written contracts or terms of employment. This will reveal the implications of workers not being issued with written contracts or terms of employment.
Originality/value
This is one of the first extensive evaluations of the prevalence and distribution of employees without written contracts or terms of employment.
Showing posts with label undeclared_work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label undeclared_work. Show all posts
Saturday, 7 October 2017
Friday, 6 January 2017
Tackling the undeclared economy in the European Union: an evaluation of the tax morale approach
an article by Colin C Williams and Ioana A Horodnic (University of Sheffield, UK) published in Industrial Relations Volume 47 Issue 4 (July 2016)
Abstract
To evaluate a new approach towards tackling the undeclared economy, which views participants as social actors rather than rational economic actors, this article reports evidence from 27,563 face-to-face interviews conducted across the European Union during 2013.
Multilevel logistic regression analysis reveals a strong association between participation in undeclared work and the level of tax morale.
Finding that higher tax morale (and thus a lower propensity to engage in undeclared work) is strongly correlated with greater levels of state intervention but also with individual-level characteristics such as gender, age, education and employment status, the article concludes not only by confirming a political economy approach and refuting modernization and neo-liberal explanations and remedies, but also by revealing for the first time the importance of solutions not so far considered, including improving educational attainment, older citizens mentoring for younger people and improving women's participation in the labour force.
Full text (PDF 19pp)
Abstract
To evaluate a new approach towards tackling the undeclared economy, which views participants as social actors rather than rational economic actors, this article reports evidence from 27,563 face-to-face interviews conducted across the European Union during 2013.
Multilevel logistic regression analysis reveals a strong association between participation in undeclared work and the level of tax morale.
Finding that higher tax morale (and thus a lower propensity to engage in undeclared work) is strongly correlated with greater levels of state intervention but also with individual-level characteristics such as gender, age, education and employment status, the article concludes not only by confirming a political economy approach and refuting modernization and neo-liberal explanations and remedies, but also by revealing for the first time the importance of solutions not so far considered, including improving educational attainment, older citizens mentoring for younger people and improving women's participation in the labour force.
Full text (PDF 19pp)
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
An institutional theory of the informal economy: some lessons from the United Kingdom
an article by Colin C Williams (Management School, University of Sheffield, UK) and Ioana Alexandra Horodnic ('Gh. Zane' Institute for Economic and Social Research, Romanian Academy Iasi Branch, Romania) published in International Journal of Social Economics Volume 43 Issue 7 (2016)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new way of explaining participation in the informal economy as resulting from the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of a society’s formal institutions (government morality) and the norms, values and beliefs of the population that constitute its informal institutions (societal morality). The proposition is that the greater the asymmetry between government morality and societal morality, the greater is the propensity to participate in the informal economy.
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate this institutional asymmetry theory, the results are reported of 1,306 face-to-face interviews conducted during 2013 in the UK.
Findings
The finding is a strong correlation between the degree of institutional asymmetry (measured by tax morale) and participation in the informal economy. The lower the tax morale, the greater is the propensity to participate in the informal economy. Using ordered logistic regression analysis, tax morale is not found to significantly vary by, for example, social class, employment status or wealth, but there are significant gender, age and spatial variations with men, younger age groups, rural areas and Scotland displaying significantly lower tax morale than women, older people, urban areas and London.
Practical implications
Rather than continue with the current disincentives policy approach, a new policy approach that reduces the asymmetry between government morality and societal morality is advocated. This requires not only changes in societal morality regarding the acceptability of participating in the informal economy but also changes in how formal institutions operate in order for this to be achieved.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new way of explaining participation in the informal economy and reviews its consequences for understanding and tackling the informal economy in the UK.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new way of explaining participation in the informal economy as resulting from the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of a society’s formal institutions (government morality) and the norms, values and beliefs of the population that constitute its informal institutions (societal morality). The proposition is that the greater the asymmetry between government morality and societal morality, the greater is the propensity to participate in the informal economy.
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate this institutional asymmetry theory, the results are reported of 1,306 face-to-face interviews conducted during 2013 in the UK.
Findings
The finding is a strong correlation between the degree of institutional asymmetry (measured by tax morale) and participation in the informal economy. The lower the tax morale, the greater is the propensity to participate in the informal economy. Using ordered logistic regression analysis, tax morale is not found to significantly vary by, for example, social class, employment status or wealth, but there are significant gender, age and spatial variations with men, younger age groups, rural areas and Scotland displaying significantly lower tax morale than women, older people, urban areas and London.
Practical implications
Rather than continue with the current disincentives policy approach, a new policy approach that reduces the asymmetry between government morality and societal morality is advocated. This requires not only changes in societal morality regarding the acceptability of participating in the informal economy but also changes in how formal institutions operate in order for this to be achieved.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new way of explaining participation in the informal economy and reviews its consequences for understanding and tackling the informal economy in the UK.
Monday, 24 December 2012
Tackling the hidden enterprise culture: Government policies to support the formalization of informal entrepreneurship
an article by Colin C. Williams and Sara Nadin (affiliation(s) not provided) published in Entrepreneurship and Regional Development Volume 24 Numbers 9-10 (December 2012)
Abstract
It is now recognised that many entrepreneurs operate wholly or partially in the informal economy. Harnessing this hidden enterprise culture by facilitating its formalisation is therefore a potentially effective and innovative means of promoting economic development and growth.
To start evaluating how this might be achieved, the aim of this paper is to understand entrepreneurs’ motives for operating in the informal economy so as to identify the public policy interventions required to facilitate the formalisation of this hidden enterprise culture.
Reporting a survey of 51 nascent entrepreneurs in North Nottinghamshire, of which 43 were operating in the informal economy, the finding is that entrepreneurs’ rationales for working informally differ according to both whether they operate wholly in the informal economy or have registered enterprises but trade partially off-the-books, as well as whether they view themselves as on a journey towards formalisation or not.
Different policy measures are therefore required to tackle each type of informal entrepreneurship.
The outcome is a tentative call for a more nuanced and bespoke policy approach for tackling the different kinds of informal entrepreneurship that comprise the hidden enterprise culture.
Abstract
It is now recognised that many entrepreneurs operate wholly or partially in the informal economy. Harnessing this hidden enterprise culture by facilitating its formalisation is therefore a potentially effective and innovative means of promoting economic development and growth.
To start evaluating how this might be achieved, the aim of this paper is to understand entrepreneurs’ motives for operating in the informal economy so as to identify the public policy interventions required to facilitate the formalisation of this hidden enterprise culture.
Reporting a survey of 51 nascent entrepreneurs in North Nottinghamshire, of which 43 were operating in the informal economy, the finding is that entrepreneurs’ rationales for working informally differ according to both whether they operate wholly in the informal economy or have registered enterprises but trade partially off-the-books, as well as whether they view themselves as on a journey towards formalisation or not.
Different policy measures are therefore required to tackle each type of informal entrepreneurship.
The outcome is a tentative call for a more nuanced and bespoke policy approach for tackling the different kinds of informal entrepreneurship that comprise the hidden enterprise culture.
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