IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/gdk/wpaper/35.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

How To Define And Measure Informal Employment In Developed Countries? A Case Of Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Dagmara Nikulin

    (Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland)

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to point out the possible measures of how to improve the study of informal employment in developed countries. We choose the case of Poland to examine whether the existing definitions and measurement methods are suitable for indicating the prevalence of informal employment. Firstly, we present the most popular definitions of informal employment, secondly we show the existing research on informal employment in Poland, and thirdly we assess the previous estimations of informal employment in Poland with regard to the definition’s scope. Finally, we propose some improvements that would help in studying this phenomenon in Poland. Through a critical analysis of existing research on informal employment we contribute to the existing literature in two ways: (i) by constructing the definitional frames of informal employment in Poland; and (ii) by pointing out the possible extensions of surveys devoted to informal employment in developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Dagmara Nikulin, 2016. "How To Define And Measure Informal Employment In Developed Countries? A Case Of Poland," GUT FME Working Paper Series A 35, Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdansk University of Technology.
    • Handle: RePEc:gdk:wpaper:35
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cdn.files.pg.edu.pl/zie/Strona%20polska/Nauka/Publikacje/Working%20Papers/WP_GUTFME_A_35.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2016
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joanna Tyrowicz & Stanisław Cichocki, 2011. "Employed unemployed? On shadow employment in transition," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 38(2), pages 259-281, May.
    2. François Gardes & Christophe Starzec, 2009. "Polish Households' Behavior in the Regular and Informal Economies," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 60(5), pages 1181-1210.
    3. Schneider, Friedrich, 2011. "The Shadow Economy and Shadow Economy Labor Force: What Do We (Not) Know?," IZA Discussion Papers 5769, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Loayza, Norman V. & Rigolini, Jamele, 2006. "Informality trends and cycles," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4078, The World Bank.
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:375000 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Schneider, Friedrich & Buehn, Andreas, 2012. "Shadow Economies in Highly Developed OECD Countries: What Are the Driving Forces?," IZA Discussion Papers 6891, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Dominik H. Enste & Friedrich Schneider, 2000. "Shadow Economies: Size, Causes, and Consequences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 77-114, March.
    8. Hussmanns, Ralf., 2004. "Measuring the informal economy : from employment in the formal sector to informal employment," ILO Working Papers 993750003402676, International Labour Organization.
    9. François Gardes & Christophe Starzec, 2009. "Polish Households' behavior in the Regular and Informal Economies," Post-Print halshs-00375543, HAL.
    10. Friedrich Schneider & Dominik Enste, 1999. "Shadow Economies Around the World - Size, Causes, and Consequences," CESifo Working Paper Series 196, CESifo.
    11. François Gardes & Christophe Starzec, 2009. "Polish Households' Behavior in the Regular and Informal Economies," Post-Print halshs-00449447, HAL.
    12. Dixon, Huw, 1999. "Controversy: On the Use of the 'Hidden Economy' Estimates," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(456), pages 335-337, June.
    13. Stanisław Cichocki, 2006. "Metody pomiaru szarej strefy," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 1-2, pages 37-61.
    14. Stanisław Cichocki & Joanna Tyrowicz, 2011. "Determinanty zatrudnienia nierejestrowanego w Polsce w okresach wysokiej i niskiej koniunktury," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 3, pages 1-27.
    15. Johannes Jütting & Jante Parlevliet & Theodora Xenogiani, 2008. "Informal Employment Re-loaded," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 266, OECD Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ioana Alexandra HORODNIC & Colin C WILLIAMS & Rodica IANOLE-CÄ‚LIN, 2020. "Does higher cash-in-hand income motivate young people to engage in under-declared employment?," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 11, pages 48-69, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edoardo Di Porto & Leandro Elia & Cristina Tealdi, 2017. "Informal work in a flexible labour market," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(1), pages 143-164.
    2. Nesma Mohamed Ali, 2017. "Towards a better integration of the informal sector: three empirical essays on the interaction between formal and informal firms in Egypt and beyond," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph17-05 edited by Manon Domingues Dos Santos & Boris Najman, April.
    3. Nesma Ali & Boris Najman, 2016. "Informal Competition, Firms Productivity and Policy Reforms in Egypt," Working Papers 1025, Economic Research Forum, revised Jul 2016.
    4. Hazans, Mihails, 2011. "What explains prevalence of informal employment in European countries : the role of labor institutions, governance, immigrants, and growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5917, The World Bank.
    5. Omodero Cordelia Onyinyechi, 2019. "The Financial and Economic Implications of Underground Economy: The Nigerian Perspective," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Sciendo, vol. 8(2), pages 155-167, July.
    6. Nikulin Dagmara, 2016. "Undeclared Work in Poland – Characteristics and Prevalence," Ekonomika (Economics), Sciendo, vol. 95(2), pages 98-107, February.
    7. Dagmara Nikulin & Ewa Lechman, 2021. "Shadow Economy in Poland: Results of the Survey," SpringerBriefs in Economics, in: Shadow Economy in Poland, chapter 0, pages 49-65, Springer.
    8. Slonimczyk, Fabian, 2011. "The effect of taxation on informal employment: evidence from the Russian flat tax reform," MPRA Paper 35404, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Owolabi, Adegboyega O. & Berdiev, Aziz N. & Saunoris, James W., 2022. "Is the shadow economy procyclical or countercyclical over the business cycle? International evidence," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 257-270.
    10. Schneider Friedrich & Buehn Andreas, 2017. "Shadow Economy: Estimation Methods, Problems, Results and Open questions," Open Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-29, March.
    11. Carmen Camacho & Fabio Mariani & Luca Pensieroso, 2017. "Illegal immigration and the shadow economy," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 24(6), pages 1050-1080, December.
    12. Langot, François & Merola, Rossana & Oh, Samil, 2022. "Can taxes help ensure a fair globalization?," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 191-213.
    13. Floridi, A. & Wagner, N. & Cameron, J., 2016. "A study of Egyptian and Palestine trans-formal firms – A neglected category operating in the borderland between formality and informality," ISS Working Papers - General Series 619, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    14. Nezhyvenko, O., 2019. "Indirect or Macroeconomic Methods in Measuring the Informal Economy," Journal of Applied Management and Investments, Department of Business Administration and Corporate Security, International Humanitarian University, vol. 8(4), pages 201-215, December.
    15. Philippe Adair, 2012. "The Non-Observed Economy in the European Union Countries (EU-15): A Comparative Analysis of Estimates," Chapters, in: Michael Pickhardt & Aloys Prinz (ed.), Tax Evasion and the Shadow Economy, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Friedrich SCHNEIDER, 2016. "Estimating the Size of the Shadow Economy: Methods, Problems and Open Questions," Turkish Economic Review, KSP Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 256-280, June.
    17. Feige, Edgar L., 2015. "Reflections on the meaning and measurement of Unobserved Economies: What do we really know about the “Shadow Economy”?," MPRA Paper 68466, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Colombo, Emilio & Onnis, Luisanna & Tirelli, Patrizio, 2016. "Shadow economies at times of banking crises: Empirics and theory," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 180-190.
    19. Roberto Dell'Anno, 2022. "Theories and definitions of the informal economy: A survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1610-1643, December.
    20. Markandya, Anil & González-Eguino, Mikel & Escapa, Marta, 2013. "From shadow to green: Linking environmental fiscal reforms and the informal economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(S1), pages 108-118.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    informal employment; Poland; undeclared work; shadow economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E26 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Informal Economy; Underground Economy
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gdk:wpaper:35. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wojciech Drapinski (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wzepgpl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.