Driving forces of informal labour supply and demand in Germany

Haigner, Stefan; Jenewein, Stefan; Schneider, Friedrich; Wakolbinger, Florian

doi:10.1111/j.1564-913x.2013.00191.x

Cited by 26 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Reporting on a direct survey of 2,104 workers in Germany in 2010, the next article, by Haigner et al (2013), finds that the unemployed (and those who have experienced unemployment) are more likely to engage in informal employment themselves and/or to make use of informal labour. This pattern is correlated with both the perceived degree of government bureaucracy and the perceived risk of being audited.…”

Section: Contributions To This Special Issue and Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 98%

Informal employment in developed and developing economies: Perspectives and policy responses

Williams

Lansky

2013

International Labour Review

134

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The aim of this introductory article is to provide a critical overview of how informality has been defined and measured, together with selected findings on its extent and character, and a summary of competing views regarding its role in contemporary economies and how it can be tackled. The outcome is a set of conceptual frameworks for understanding both the burgeoning literature on informal employment and how each of the perspectives presented in this Special Issue contributes to the advancement of knowledge on this subject so as to set the scene for the articles that follow.

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Section: Contributions To This Special Issue and Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 98%

Informal employment in developed and developing economies: Perspectives and policy responses

Williams

Lansky

2013

International Labour Review

134

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“…In addition to the studies by Feld and Larsen (2005, 2009), Haigner et al (2013, and Enste and Schneider (2006) for Germany, survey methods have been applied in the Northern countries and Great Britain (Isachsen and Strøm (1985), Pedersen (2003), Schneider and Zukauskas (2016)) as well as in the Netherlands (Van Eck and Kazemier (1988), Kazemier (2006)). The questionnaires underlying these studies are broadly comparable in design; however, recent attempts by the European Union to provide survey results for all member states have run into great difficulties of comparability (Renooy et al (2004), European Commission (2007)).…”

Section: Direct Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shadow Economy: Estimation Methods, Problems, Results and Open questions

Schneider

Buehn²

2018

Open Economics

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154

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This paper presents various methods used for estimating the size of the shadow economy. Each method is evaluated and its strengths and weaknesses are discussed, as well as results each method yields. The purpose of the paper is threefold: Firstly, to demonstrate that there is no single infallible method for estimating the size and development of the shadow economy and results can differ significantly between different approaches. The MIMIC approach, discussed in greater detail, is often used due to its flexibility. Secondly, the paper discusses the very definition of the shadow economy and factors contributing to its growth. Finally, latest estimations of the size of the shadow economies of 143 countries over the period 1996 to 2014 are presented. JEL-Classification: D78, E26, H2, H11, H26, K42, O5, O17Keywords: shadow economy estimates, MIMIC approach, methods to estimate the shadow economy, advantages and disadvantages of the methods, MIMIC-method, calibration procedure, light intensity approach IntroductionEmpirical research about the size and development of the shadow economy all over the world has grown rapidly. Nowadays, there are so many studies,1 which use different methods in order to estimate the size and development of the shadow economy, that it is quite difficult to judge the reliability of various methods. Hence, the goal of this paper is to critically review the various methods for estimating the size of the shadow economy and to discuss their strengths and weaknesses. This will enable an interested reader to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods.The paper is structured as follows: In the next section some theoretical considerations are presented, starting with a definition of the shadow economy and a brief discussion of its main causes. In section 3 the various measurement methods, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, are described. This section also presents estimates of the size of the shadow economy in Germany using different estimation methods. Section 4 presents some latest developments, new measurement methods, the concept of digital shadow economy, and latest results from 143 countries between 1996 and 2014. Finally, section 5 presents a summary and some concluding remarks.1 See e.g. Feld and Schneider (2010), Gerxhani (2003), Schneider (2015), and Schneider and Williams (2013), Schneider (2016, Schneider (2016), andSauka, Schneider and Defining the shadow economyResearchers attempting to measure the size of shadow economy face the first and difficult question of how to define it.2 One commonly used working definition encompasses all currently unregistered economic activities that would contribute to the officially calculated (or observed) Gross National Product if observed.3 Smith (1994, p. 18) uses the definition "market-based production of goods and services, whether legal or illegal, that escapes detection in the official estimates of GDP." One of the broadest definitions includes "those economic activities and the income derived from them ...

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“…In the second part, questions about respondents' activities in the informal economy are asked, and the third part contains the usual socio-demographic questions. In addition to the studies by Merz and Wolff (1993), Feld and Larsen (2005), Haigner et al (2013) and Enste and Schneider (2006) in Germany, the survey method has been applied in the Nordic countries and Great Britain (Isachsen andStrøm, 1985, Pedersen 2003) as well as in the Netherlands (van Eck andKazemier, 1988, Kazemier, 2006). While the questionnaires underlying these studies are broadly comparable in design, recent attempts by the European Union to provide survey results for all EU member states runs into difficulties regarding comparability (Renooy et al, 2004, European Commission, 2007: the wording of the questionnaires becomes more and more cumbersome depending on the culture of different countries with respect to the underground economy.…”

Section: Measuring the Informal Economymentioning

confidence: 98%

In the Shadow of the State - the Informal Economy and Informal Economy Labor Force

Schneider

2015

DANUBE: Law and Economics Review

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In this paper, the main focus lies on the informal economy and on work in the shadow. The most influential factors on the informal economy are tax policies and state regulation. The size of the informal economy was decreasing over the period 1999 to 2007, from 34.0% to 31.2% for 161 countries (unweighted average). Furthermore, economic opportunities, taxes and regulations, the general situation on the labor market, and unemployment are crucial for an understanding of the dynamics of the shadow labor force. In contrast with the decrease of the informal economy (value added figures), the informal economy labor force increased for most countries over the period 1999 to 2007.

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Driving forces of informal labour supply and demand in Germany

Cited by 26 publications

References 14 publications

Informal employment in developed and developing economies: Perspectives and policy responses

Informal employment in developed and developing economies: Perspectives and policy responses

Shadow Economy: Estimation Methods, Problems, Results and Open questions

In the Shadow of the State - the Informal Economy and Informal Economy Labor Force

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