What explains prevalence of informal employment in European countries: the role of labor institutions, governance, immigrants, and growth

"European Social Survey data on 30 countries, covering years 2004-2009, are used to look into joint institutional [and other macro] determinants of the rates of dependent employment without a contract, informal self-employment, and unemployment (secondary jobs are not accounted for). Consistent...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hazans, Mihails
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Bonn 2011
IZA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19177994124919951769-What-explains-prevalence-of-in.htm
_version_ 1771659899970781187
author Hazans, Mihails
author_facet Hazans, Mihails
collection Library items
description "European Social Survey data on 30 countries, covering years 2004-2009, are used to look into joint institutional [and other macro] determinants of the rates of dependent employment without a contract, informal self-employment, and unemployment (secondary jobs are not accounted for). Consistently with theoretical predictions, quality of business environment has a significant negative impact on prevalence of both types of informal employment. The share of non-contracted employees is negatively affected by perceived quality of public services and is positively related to economic growth. GDP per capita has a positive impact on informality in Europe at large and within Eastern and Southern Europe. Other things equal, the share of non-contracted employees in the labor force across all European countries increases with the minimum-to-average wage ratio, with union density, with the share of first and second generation immigrants, and with income inequality, but falls with stricter employment protection legislation (EPL) and higher tax wedge on labor. Thus it appears that in Europe at large, labor cost effects of EPL and taxes are weaker than their impact via perceptions of job security and law enforcement, along with tax morale and the income effect. Yet the EPL effect on informality is positive (i.e., cost-related) when either Eastern and Southern Europe or Western and Northern Europe are considered separately. Furthermore, within Western and Northern Europe, the minimum wage effect is negative, whilst within Eastern and Southern Europe, the union effect is negative. Various panel data methods are used to confirm the robustness of the results."
format TEXT
geographic EU countries
id 19177994124919951769_e8babf25276b4f7d8fd163b7ed51baab
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19177994124919951769_e8babf25276b4f7d8fd163b7ed51baab
is_hierarchy_title What explains prevalence of informal employment in European countries: the role of labor institutions, governance, immigrants, and growth
language English
physical 52 p .
Digital
publishDate 2011
publisher Bonn
IZA
spellingShingle Hazans, Mihails
immigration
labour legislation
minimum wage
labour market policy
informal employment
What explains prevalence of informal employment in European countries: the role of labor institutions, governance, immigrants, and growth
title What explains prevalence of informal employment in European countries: the role of labor institutions, governance, immigrants, and growth
topic immigration
labour legislation
minimum wage
labour market policy
informal employment
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19177994124919951769-What-explains-prevalence-of-in.htm