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Employment conditions are important social and commercial determinants of health. Informal employment-also known as 'cash-in-hand' and 'undeclared' work-is a discrete employment condition that has salience around the world. Fuelled by neoliberal ideology, informal employment has become increasingly common in high-income countries. Public health research concerning the health of informal workers comes largely from low- and middle-income countries, where the phenomenon is more visible. There has been little research on the health effects of informal employment in high-income countries including Australia. Twenty-nine workers aged 18 years and older, who were undertaking informal work activities, were recruited using social media and an online marketplace in Tarndanya (Adelaide-Kaurna Country), Australia. Qualitative narrative data, demographic profiles, and physical and mental health scores were collected. Most informal workers reported unfair and indecent employment conditions including job insecurity, low income, coercion, and lack of respect and dignity at work, and were often exposed to unsafe and unhealthy work environments. Workplace injuries and exposure to occupational hazards were common; and Physical and Mental Component Scores were poorer among informal workers when compared to the population of South Australia as a whole. With informal employment in Australia described as part of a 'significant, pervasive, damaging and growing' problem, there is a need for a health promotion lens over industrial relations policies in the interest of creating equitable access to fair and decent work., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Background: Rates of exclusive breastfeeding fall below recommended levels, particularly among women in paid employment. In Mexico, more than half of women are in informal employment, meaning they lack many of the protections that may support breastfeeding., Methods: In-depth interviews with 15 key informants representing government agencies (n = 6 organizations), NGOs (n = 4), international organizations (n = 2), and academia (n = 2) in Mexico. Interviews were conducted between March and June 2023. To understand and describe barriers to breastfeeding among informally employed women in Mexico according to key informants and the current and potential policies to address these barriers, we conducted a qualitative thematic analysis., Results: Current policies to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding predominantly apply to all employed women, but respondents expressed concern that they did not provide adequate protection for women in informal employment. Additional themes concerned the need for relevant programs to be institutionalized and coordinated, discussions of breastfeeding as a right, and the legal equivalence (whether true in practice or not) of formal and informal workers., Conclusions: Women employed in Mexico's informal sector face a dearth of maternity protections. According to key informants, few policies exist to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding among employed women, in general, but the economic vulnerability and challenging working conditions of women in informal employment exacerbates their situation. The lack of access to formal labor protections, such as paid maternity leave, creates a significant barrier to breastfeeding for women in the informal sector. Recommendations include short-term policies to fill gaps in social protection for informally employed women, as well as longer-term solutions such as the development of universal social protection programs and supporting formalization., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Informal employment has been identified as an important social determinant of health. This article addresses the processes through which informal employment affects workers' health in Chile. The study's methodological approach was based on qualitative interviews with 34 formal and informal workers. The findings show how workers perceive informal employment as negatively affecting their mental and physical health through different dimensions of their living and working conditions. Incorporating a gender perspective proves to be integral to the analysis of these processes. The article concludes by discussing how neoliberalism underlies such vulnerability processes and negatively impacts on the population's health., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

This paper examines the relationship between different types of employment and subjective well-being with a focus on informal employment. The China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) for three selected years (2012, 2014 and 2016) shows an upward trend in the subjective well-being of urban workers in the 2010s. However, although the gap in subjective well-being between formal and informal workers narrowed, informal workers' subjective well-being was still lower than their formal counterparts. Factors affecting the subjective well-being of formal and informal workers and their different effects were revealed to explain this difference. The subjective well-being of informal workers is significantly related to their informal status of employment, economic conditions (such as income and working hours), human capital, social capital (such as perceived social justice and perceived community connectedness) and urban environment. The paper enhances the understanding of people's subjective well-being by differentiating informal/formal segments of working populations.

The influence of informal employment on residents' happiness has gained wide attention around the world. However, few studies focus on this topic in China. Using the 2016 wave of the China Labor Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) data, we examined the effect of informal employment and its mechanisms on residents' happiness in China. Our study shows there is a significant negative correlation between informal employment and residents' happiness in China. Moreover, the correlation between informal employment and residents' happiness is stronger for residents who are female, migrating, and with a rural household registration. In addition, we investigated possible mechanisms of the effect, including individual income, social respect, unemployment expectations, and social security, and found that informal employment reduces the happiness of residents by widening the gap in unemployment probability and social insurance level among residents.

The aim of this study is to estimate the association between employment conditions and mental health status in the working population of Iberoamerica. In this cross-sectional study, we pooled individual-level data from nationally representative surveys across 13 countries. A sample of 180,260 workers was analyzed. Informality was assessed by social security, health affiliation, or contract holding. Mental health was assessed using several instruments. We used Poisson regression models to estimate the contribution of informality to poor mental health by sex and country, adjusted by sociodemographic and work-related characteristics. Then, we performed a meta-analysis pooling of aggregate data using a random-effects inverse-variance model. Workers in informal employments showed a higher adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) of poor mental health than those in formal employment in Peru (aPR men 1.5 [95% confidence intervals 1.16; 1.93]), Spain (aPR men 2.2 [1.01; 4.78]) and Mexico (aPR men 1.24 [1.04; 1.47]; women 1.39 [1.18; 1.64]). Overall estimates showed that workers in informal employment have a higher prevalence of poor mental health than formal workers, with it being 1.19 times higher (aPR 1.19 [1.02; 1.39]) among men, and 1.11 times higher prevalence among women (aPR 1.11 [1.00; 1.23]). Addressing informal employment could contribute to improving workers' mental health.

Background: Globally, two billion workers are employed informally but there is limited research on the relationship between informal work and health. Existing studies have focused on informality as an employment condition, with little emphasis on the diversity of physical and social contexts in which informal work takes place. The study considers the diversity of informal workplaces and explores the ways in which this diversity might influence health and well-being of two informal occupational groups in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar., Methods: We conducted 21 field observations and 47 semi-structured interviews with street vendors and home-based garment workers based in Yangon, Myanmar. A constant comparative method was used to identify and compare how the physical characteristics of their informal workplaces affect their health for these two informal subgroups., Results: Although both street vendors and home-based garment workers work informally, their exposure to occupational health and income risks are specific to the physical features of their informal workplaces. Street vendors, who work in public spaces with minimal coverage, are more likely to experience the direct effects of outdoor pollution, inclement weather and ergonomic risks from lifting, carrying and transporting heavy merchandise while home-based garment workers, many of whom live and work in unsanitary housing and deprived neighborhoods, are more likely to experience pollution in or near their homes, and ergonomic risks from poor posture. Similarly, although both groups face safety challenges, street vendors face urban violence and abuse during their commute and at vending points whereas home-based garment workers felt unsafe in their home-based workplaces due to the presence of crime and violence in their neighborhoods., Conclusion: While informal employment is universally characterized by lack of social protection, exposure to occupational health and income risks for subpopulations of informal workers is determined by the specific physical and social environments of their workplaces. Efforts to improve the health of informal workers should consider the contexts in which informal work takes place to develop tailored interventions for subpopulations of informal workers.

Background: The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of informal workers and their working conditions and employment precariousness in the EU-27; and to explore the association of different contract arrangements with health outcomes and how they are influenced by working and employment conditions., Methods: A sample of 27 245 working-age employees from the fifth European Working Condition Survey of 2010 was analysed. Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the contribution of different contract arrangement (permanent, temporary and informal) and working and employment precariousness variables on health outcomes (psychosocial well-being and self-rated health)., Results: Prevalence of informal employees in the EU-27 is 4.1% among men and 5.1% among women. Although informal employees have the poorest working conditions and employment precariousness, they did not seem to reflect poorer health. Precariousness employment variables have a greater impact than working conditions variables in reducing the association between health outcomes and type of contract arrangement, especially in the case of informal employees., Conclusions: Informal employment in the EU-27 is characterized by worse working conditions and employment precariousness than the conditions for formal employees. There is no evidence at all that being in informal employment implies better health outcomes compared to permanent employees., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Informal employment, in which workers have no security of employment and receive few or no health insurance benefits, has risen sharply in urban China in the last decade. The percentage of women in informal employment in China is higher than in the formal employment sector; 'feminization' has thus become a key feature of informal employment in China. A feminized informal labor sector has far-reaching effects on the status of women's health and on women's health-seeking behavior. To better understand this behavior, especially barriers to health seeking, we conducted 34 interviews informally employed women in Guangzhou, China. For comparative purposes, we also interviewed 22 men in the informal labor sector. Findings reveal that compared with men, women have more serious health problems but report seeking medical attention less frequently. Financial constraints, distrust of doctors and medical expenses, unfriendly treatment environments and traditional attitudes about health and illness among women were the main barriers to health seeking. Implications for health promotion are discussed., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: To assess the relationship between paid work, family characteristics and health status in Central American workers; and to examine whether patterns of association differ by gender and informal or formal employment., Methods: Cross-sectional study of 8680 non-agricultural workers, based on the First Central American Survey of Working Conditions and Health (2011). Main explicative variables were paid working hours, marital status, caring for children, and caring for people with functional diversity or ill. Using Poisson regression models, adjusted prevalence ratios of poor self-perceived and mental health were calculated by sex and social security coverage (proxy of informal employment)., Results: A clear pattern of association was observed for women in informal employment who were previously married, had care responsibilities, long working hours, or part-time work for both self-perceived and mental health. No other patterns were found., Conclusions: Our results show health inequalities related to unpaid care work and paid work that depend on the interaction between gender and informal employment. To reduce these inequalities suitable policies should consider both the labor (increasing social security coverage) and domestic spheres (co-responsibility of care).

Informal employment represents more than half of nonagricultural employment in most developing regions, contributes to the overall economy, and provides pathways to reduction of poverty and inequality. Support to the informal economy should include the expansion of occupational health and safety to include informal workers, based on an analysis of their work places and work risks. The paper presents main schools of thought and argues for a holistic understanding of the different segments of the informal work force and for policies and interventions tailored to the needs and constraints of these different segments. The paper recommends a policy approach which seeks to extend social protection, including occupational health and safety services, to informal workers, and to increase the productivity of informal enterprises and informal workers through an enabling environment and support services. The paper calls for a new paradigm of a hybrid economy which would value and integrate the informal economy alongside the formal economies., (© The Author(s) 2016.)

The objective of this article is to provide a summary of the issues related to occupational safety and health and well-being among workers in the informal economy of Thailand, with a special emphasis on home-based workers. The reviewed literature includes documents and information sources developed by the International Labour Organization, the National Statistical Office of Thailand, peer-reviewed scientific publications, and master's theses conducted in Thailand. This work is part of a needs and opportunities analysis carried out by the Center for Work, Environment, Nutrition and Development--a partnership between Mahidol University and University of Massachusetts Lowell to identify the gaps in knowledge and research to support government policy development in the area of occupational and environmental health for workers in the informal economy., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

The adverse effects of COVID-19 on labour market outcomes are amplified by and partly attributable to the imposition of extreme mobility restrictions. While gendered disparities in job losses and reduction in working hours are demonstrated in the literature, is an informalization of employment observed, and is this phenomenon likewise gendered? This article analyses the Philippines, a country that imposed one of the world's longest and strictest lockdowns, and specifically how its imposition affected informal employment. A conceptual and empirical distinction between compositional and survivalist informalization is proffered – the former referring to informality induced by changes in the size and composition of overall employment, and the latter referring to informality induced by the need to work owing to absent sufficient welfare support and precautionary household savings. Examining the regional variation in lockdowns as a quasi-experiment, results demonstrate that extreme lockdowns increased the probability of informal employment among employed women but not among employed men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The number of workers engaged in informal employment in China has reached 200 million individuals, constituting a substantial contribution to the pursuit of high-quality development and the attainment of stable employment objectives. Nevertheless, the psychological well-being of informal workers cannot be overlooked. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of informal employment on individuals' psychological well-being. Methods: Drawing on data from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) survey, this work employs ordinary least squares (OLS) models and instrumental variable analysis to empirically examine the impact of informal employment on the psychological well-being. Furthermore, different tests were utilised to analyse the mediating pathway through which informal employment affects the psychological well-being. Results: Informal employment exhibits a significant negative impact on the psychological well-being, particularly among samples characterised by low educational levels, limited financial resources, and non-agricultural household registration. The exploration of the underlying mechanisms indicates that informal employment negatively affects the psychological well-being of workers through pathways that include reduced access to health entitlements, increased working hours, and decreased job satisfaction, particularly with the work environment. Conclusion: A recommendation is proposed; namely, to further establish a social security system that caters to the needs of the informal employment population and supports and regulates the development of flexible employment forms, with the aim of protecting and enhancing the psychological well-being of the informal employment population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longstanding evidence in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries shows a high prevalence of unemployment and informality among a large fraction of population, and at the same time gender disparities in labour force participation and occupational mobility. Why is there such persistent labour‐market segmentation? What is the impact and potential of various formalisation policies? An overview of the informal economy across three middle‐income MENA countries (Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia) is provided with respect to taxonomy, coverage and drivers. Transition matrices and multinomial logistic regressions are applied to longitudinal microdata from Labour‐Market Panel Surveys, focusing on workers' occupational mobility in relation to their previous status, age cohort, gender and other demographics. Persistent segmentation and low occupational mobility in all countries suggest that informal employment is not driven by choice on the labour supply side but by structural constraints on the demand side. Existing formalisation policies based on distinct stick and carrot strategies, and targeting of existing businesses and workers achieve rather modest impacts. One recommendation to supplement policies for decent jobs creation is to promote social and solidarity enterprises and extend microfinance to informal enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that agricultural exports play an important role in the country's export agenda, the study hypothesis is that agricultural exports positively and negatively affect the number of jobs in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, respectively. With this, the objective is to investigate the effect of the agricultural exports of the Brazilian states on the agricultural and non-agricultural labor market, considering the period from 2002 to 2015, through the method of Instrumental Variables. The main results revealed that agricultural export exposure significantly expanded agricultural employment, demonstrating to be a strong factor in boosting rural income. However, non-agricultural employment was negatively affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between types of employment and wages by gender and gender pay gaps among permanent, temporary, and informal workers. There are substantial gender inequalities in bargaining, and these inequalities are argued to be more prevalent for temporary and informal jobs. Hence, larger wage penalties for women in such positions are expected. Moreover, the inverse association between wages and non-permanent contracts is larger for low-paid women. To this end, the study employs unconditional quantile regression techniques and counterfactual decomposition analysis, and accounts for selection bias. The dataset is based on labor force surveys over the period 2005–19 in Turkey and focuses on private sector employees. The findings highlight the disproportionate impact of temporary and informal employment on women's earnings and suggest that employment type can be a contributing factor to the gender pay gap in Turkey, particularly for low wage groups. In Turkey, employment opportunities, social norms, and gender roles limit women's bargaining power. Gender inequalities in bargaining can vary significantly across employment types. Women employees with temporary or informal jobs suffer from larger pay penalties. Residual gender pay gaps are larger for low-paid temporary and informal workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Management & Economics Research is the property of Journal of Management & Economics Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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Objective: The article aims to indicate the determinants of informal employment in registered enterprises using company-level evidence from Poland. Research Design & Methods: The survey conducted among Polish small and medium-sized (SME) enterprises in 2018 was used to find the driving forces of informal employment in Poland. The adequate sample comprised 952 representative surveys derived from the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI). The quantitative analysis was based on the logistic regression. Findings: The findings indicate that among the main drivers of informal employment, one can distinguish the level of tax morality of owners or company managers and the administrative difficulties related to setting up a business. The role of non-economic factors in creating informal activities was confirmed. Moreover, informal employment was more prevalent in smaller companies operating in the construction industry. Implications & Recommendations: Our analysis may be helpful for both research in entrepreneurship and tax evasion and the shadow economy stream. It indicates the heterogeneity among Polish enterprises related to the involvement in informal activities, particularly informal labour. Our study sheds light onto the less known dimension of 'grey activities' existing in the registered companies, which is less frequently analysed in the literature. Contribution & Value Added: This evidence will help us understand the primary motives for using the informal workforce and enhance further research on the nature and extent of informal employment and the shadow economy in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of Internet use on informal employment, and the study found that Internet use can reduce the probability of labourers choosing informal employment. Such an impact is heterogeneous for different groups of labourers, especially significant for the group of labourers from rural regions aged between 21 to 30 years old with a bachelor's degree or above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While a thick strand of literature demonstrates informally employed workers and irregular migrants being generally worse off in the labor market, little has been done to examine and compare these two sources of disadvantages. Using regression analyses on a survey of migrant workers in Thailand from Cambodia, Myanmar and Lao People's Democratic Republic, the paper measures the prevalence of informal employment and estimates the differential contributions of irregular migration status and informal employment on various employment conditions. The paper finds that informality has a relatively stronger association with worse employment conditions, and systematic differences persist across sectors of employment and countries of origin. Initiatives to improve working conditions for irregular migrant workers should thus focus on both formalizing their employment status and expanding access to legal and safe migration, including social protection programs, in destination countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Human Sciences Journal / Revue des Sciences Humaines is the property of Universite des Freres Mentouri Constantine and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on the 2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), the difference in returns to schooling between formal and informal employment was empirically analysed using the IV-Heckman model. It is found in the research that there are significant differences in the average income and level of educational human capital between formal and informal employment, and that returns to schooling of formal employment is much higher than that of informal employment. In addition, the propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to study the returns to schooling of high school and university of the two employment groups. The results indicate that returns to schooling of high school and university of the formal employment are significantly higher than those of the informal employment group, while the difference in returns to schooling of university is greater than that of high school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the association between informal non-farm wage employment and household food security in rural Vietnam. The data for our analyses come from a nationally representative panel dataset of 1390 rural households from Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey. We conduct multivariate regression analysis using robust quantitative tools to show that informal employment is associated with a reduction in the consumption of nutritious foods. Our analysis also shows that informal employment reduces consumption of vegetables and fruits, using both the calorie- and expenditure-based shares of food groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This article reports on the results from a scoping review and a modified e-Delphi survey with experts which aimed to synthesize existing knowledge and identify research gaps on the health and health equity implications of informal employment in both low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). Methods: The scoping review included peer-reviewed articles published online between January 2015 and December 2019 in English. Additionally, a modified e-Delphi survey with experts was conducted to validate our findings from the scoping review and receive feedback on additional research and policy gaps. We drew on micro- and macro-level frameworks on employment relations and health inequities developed by the Employment Conditions Knowledge Network to synthesize and analyze existing literature. Results: A total of 540 articles were screened, and 57 met the eligibility criteria for this scoping review study, including 36 on micro-level research, 19 on macro-level research, and 13 on policy intervention research. Most of the included studies were conducted in LMICs while the research interest in informal work and health has increased globally. Findings from existing literature on the health and health equity implications of informal employment are mixed: informal employment does not necessarily lead to poorer health outcomes than formal employment. Although all informal workers share some fundamental vulnerabilities, including harmful working conditions and limited access to health and social protections, the related health implications vary according to the sub-groups of workers (e.g., gender) and the country context (e.g., types of welfare state or labour market). In the modified e-Delphi survey, participants showed a high level of agreement on a lack of consensus on the definition of informal employment, the usefulness of the concept of informal employment, the need for more comparative policy research, qualitative health research, and research on the intersection between gender and informal employment. Conclusions: Our results clearly identify the need for more research to further understand the various mechanisms through which informal employment affects health in different countries and for different groups of informal workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about Declaration of Philadelphia, which states that all human beings have the right to develop in freedom and dignity, economic security and equal opportunity as decent work is key goal number of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG). It informs about include informal employment is work without a contract, legal protection or social security is the most common employment arrangement in the world.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of thousands of migrant workers returned from their countries of employment to their families in Lao People's Democratic Republic. This article focuses on a specific population of migrant workers – Lao women returnee migrant workers in informal employment in Thailand – to explore how COVID-19 impacted their well-being and to what extent their home country's social protection system supported them. It is based on more than 400 structured interviews with women migrant workers across nine provinces of Laos, who were working abroad in the informal economy and returned to Laos at the beginning of the pandemic. The research documented a rise in unemployment and income loss while aggravating gender inequalities in terms of the division of unpaid care work, discriminatory behaviours, and potential risks of gender-based violence. It identified several policy areas where systemic support for Lao women returnee migrant workers in informal employment should be prioritised: (1) extension of social protection, (2) national labour market strategy plan, (3) migration-sensitive national action plan, and (4) co-ordination between government and civil society organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study's aim was to consider the motivations of workers who work part-time, work the gig economy, work informally and may have entrepreneurial aims in UK and Thailand. The notion of a side hustle to the main work, included where that main work was seen as, for instance, being a parent or other carer. Main work was not classified by level of earnings but by participant perception. In some cases there was no main job just "side" work, often whatever participants could get during the COVID era. Discussion with participants proceeded online and face to face in person. Some participants also completed a questionnaire, so producing a clear objectification for a core of participants, descriptive statistics. Otherwise the study was firmly qualitative in approach. The core descriptive statistical approach was very focused in an extensive Likert scale on motivations. Participants considered money the main motivation, whichever country and whatever the demographic of the participant. Sociability was generally seen as the lowest motivator, fifth of five potential motivators offered in the Likert Scale. Wider discussion with the core participants and others covered partly the same ground as the Likert, but participants introduced other themes for consideration, to include women's empowerment and parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a static general equilibrium model of occupational choice with heterogeneity in both labor and entrepreneurial skills that generates high levels of employment informality. The model uses a detailed structure of personal income taxes (PITs) and subsidies to formal workers to capture the labor wedges present in many countries. These features enable the model to assess how changes in PITs and subsidies affect labor market outcomes and the government's fiscal accounts. The model is calibrated for Mexico, which, like many developing countries, has high levels of labor informality. The model's simulations shed light on the impact of a series of reforms to PITs and subsidy schemes aimed at increasing labor formality among low-income workers. The results suggest that adjusting the current structure of the formal employment subsidy combined with PIT exemptions for low-income workers could reduce informality while marginally improving the government's fiscal balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that there is currently no clear socio-philosophical interpretation of informal employment. This is evidenced by the direct analysis of the literature on the stated problems, as well as the low research activity of scientists in various forms of organizing scientific activities (conferences, round tables, symposiums, etc.). at the same time, a lack of understanding of the internal content of this phenomenon can lead to serious socio-economic, political, ethical and other problems in society. The purpose of the study is to identify the essence of informal employment and establish the comparability of the concepts of «work», «employment», «work». Dialectical and formal-logical research methods are used with partial use of the functional analysis method and the system approach method. In the course of the work, the author argues for differences in social phenomena described by such concepts as «employment», «informal employment», «informal and shadow economy», and identifies the reasons for the emergence and functioning of informal labor relations. In order to reveal the content of the «informal employment of the population» construct itself, such elements as an economic entity (organizational unit), a business entity (employed person), and an activity (the process of creating a product or service) are highlighted. Based on the analysis of the essential characteristics of labor, employment and work, the necessity of limiting the concept of informal labor in relation to informal employment is justified. In the process of historical analysis of the employment process focuses on the transition from industrial to post-industrial stage of development of social relations, changing the culture of production and consumption, the destruction of domestic social organizations. Some stereotypes of behavior and thinking of modern informally employed workers are revealed. It is argued that modern socio-economic conditions have formed the prerequisites for the development of informal relations in the field of labor. This makes it necessary to develop a set of measures to prevent significant changes in labor standards; to develop mechanisms for transferring informal employment to employment permitted by law and preventing its transfer to the sphere of criminal activity. As a recommendation indicates the importance of the correct approach to the problems of informal employment, as distorted information would lead to knowingly making incorrect decisions during the implementation of state programs of development of the labour market and employment and other strategic programs of optimization of various spheres of life of the population.

In this empirical research, the effects of macroeconomic variables and the incentive policies implemented in Turkey on the employment, informal employment and income have been investigated in Turkey. Electricity consumption (Economic Growth), the USD/TL exchange rate and inflation variables were used as the macroeconomic variables. The employment incentives that are implemented by the Laws Number 5510, 25510/16322, 26322, 6111, 14857 and 05746/15746 among the employment incentive policies implemented in Turkey were used as variables. The first lagged values of employment incentives from the Laws No. 5510, 26322 and 6111 significantly affected informal employment. The first lagged values of the variables of economic growth as the macroeconomic variable and Law No. 5510 have a positive effect on reducing informal employment. As a macro-economic variable, USD/TL exchange rate has a negative and relatively high efficiency.

This paper presents the results of the first of its kind survey on the undeclared work in Ukraine, performed by the students of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. This is a pilot study based on 133 observations collected in March-April of 2020 in Ukraine. The sample mostly consists of young individuals residing in urban areas, single, without children, and more females as compared to males. To work undeclared means to have any paid activities that are lawful but not declared to the public authorities. The paper discusses who works undeclared in Ukraine, the educational attainment, the employment status and the economic activity of undeclared workers. Almost half of the respondents estimate the share of the population of Ukraine who perform undeclared work at the level of 43 per cent. Almost all admit knowing other undeclared workers. The risk of being detected for undeclared work is perceived to be low by almost half of the interviewees. The most popular undeclared activities are tutoring, sales, marketing, working as a waiter/waitress, an analyst, an employee in consultancy and construction. The income from formal work is observed to be lower than from undeclared work. The mean net income for formal work is under UAH 5,000 per month, while the mean net income for undeclared work is between UAH 5,000-10,000. The most common reasons for performing undeclared work are willingness to earn more, easiness to find a job, and avoiding paying taxes. Finally, the paper presents the list of recommendations to tackle the undeclared work in Ukraine, the most popular of which were as follow: to reduce the income tax, to increase fines for undeclared work, to introduce penalties for undeclared work not only for employers but also to employees, to strengthen administrative responsibility of employers, and to ease the tax system.

It is currently impossible to analyse the socio-economic situation and the budgets of the Russian regions without taking into account the problems of informal employment. There is a wide variety of publications on this topic. However, they do not sufficiently address the regional features and reasons for the behaviour of economic entities, which do not wish to comply with the legalization requirements. We conducted the research based on the neoliberal concept, which considers the informal sector as a consequence of the excessive regulation and state taxation. We hypothesise that the existence of informal employment in the region results in a budget deficit and requires the development of measures promoting the legalization of self-employed income. The study determined the level and causes of the regional informal employment, and assessed its impact on the budget. As a research methodology, we applied empirical methods, statistical, economic and financial analysis. The survey of the population of the Khanty-Mansy Autonomous Okrug — Yugra, established the nature and the main causes of informal employment. Based on the analysis of the regional budget and labour resources, we have examined the impact of informal employment on the budget and determined its cumulative effect. Finally, we have proposed a methodology for assessing how the existing level of self-employment influences the regional budget. This methodology takes into account not only the damage caused to the regional budget revenue due to the lack of tax payments, but also the damage associated with excessive social expenditures on the self-employed population. The research results can be used for developing the projects aimed at reducing informal employment at all levels of government.

Institutional pathologies and the inability of the institutional order of the labor market to adapt to possible changes is manifested in the expansion of the informal segment of labor market and in the distortionof social and labor relations. The author considers theoretical approaches to defining the volume and characteristics of the informal segment of the labor market. Generalized are the advantages and disadvantages of individual methods of estimating informal employment. Using logistic regression, author evaluate the risks of informal employment by socio-demographic characteristics, employment levels and occupation. According to the results of the evaluation, it is proven that the most dangerous age is the youngest and the oldest age groups, as these categories are the most vulnerable and socially unprotected in market conditions. It is those lacking vocational education who have the greatest risk of entering the informal employment segment. The calculations prove that having a vocational education significantly raises the “gain” for women employed in agriculture, and information and telecommunications. It is proven that the structure and level of employment in the formal and informal sectors is an important factor in aggregate labor productivity. By evaluating the aggregate productivity of formal and informal market segments, the author substantiates the importance of the relocation component in terms of economic development prospects. Thus, the calculations prove that the effect of the flow of workers between the informal and formal segments is quite significant for agriculture, trade and construction. While, on the contrary in healthcare, education, transport, and processing, the impact of the intra-industry component on aggregate productivity is greater in comparison to the displacement factor. The weight of the relocation component in the economy as a whole is higher than that of the intra-industry impact factors. Creating an institutional environment that would help reduce the economic activities in the informal segment would objectively promote economic growth.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine whether participating informality is attributed to income shocks such as wage arrears, unexpected wage cuts or compulsory unpaid leaves. The current research uses Russia longitudinal Monitoring Survey 2002–2015. Design/methodology/approach: Using formal jobs as the base category, the authors conducted pooled multinomial logit regressions allowing for the two additional employment statuses: workers without contracts and unincorporated business workers. Findings: The overall results mainly suggest that no effects occur. In other words, unexpected negative income shocks are not the main driving force of informality. Although the majority of previous studies are based on survey questions on unexpected income shock which has sample selection bias, to obtain robustness, the current study used Russian minimum wage reforms as income shocks. This research shows that Russian minimum wage reform does not affect the decision of informality in the labor market. Research limitations/implications: Given the data limitations, the authors only observed and examined the supply-side of the labor market. Tax-evading motives would be the main reason for informality; to ensure this conjecture, however, demand and supply sides need to be simultaneously examined which is beyond the scope of this study. Originality/value: In contrast to a large number of studies on cross-sectional differences in determinants of informal job holding, emphasis on the effects of income shocks on informal employment across business cycles has been minimal. The current study focuses on the business cycles because trends of informal employment can be interpreted differently regardless of whether in an economic boom or recession. Russia, as a unique natural experiment, provides us to examine informal job holdings over the business cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the New York City subway phenomenon known as "showtime." Using an individuals-in-relation framework and drawing on Marxist and feminist economic perspectives, it investigates the job quality of subway dancing as a type of informal self-employment. The data come from thirty-four in-depth interviews conducted in 2016. The paper contextualizes earnings, hours, and conditions of work by considering the social relations and power dynamics in which they are embedded. While dancers articulate advantages of this work, such as setting one's own schedule and having a creative outlet, they also articulate disadvantages, most notably the risk of being arrested. While the dancers see performing on the subway as productively contributing to New York City, the police categorize this activity as a crime. Through this analysis, the paper provides insights into the broader context of work relations and inequality in New York City. HIGHLIGHTS Empowering aspects of subway dancing include not having a boss and ability to express creativity. Challenges include negative passengers and risk of injury or arrest. Subway dancing highlights lack of quality formal employment for marginalized populations in New York City. Criminalizing subway dancing is an example of criminalization of black male bodies in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a static general equilibrium model of occupational choice with heterogeneity in both labor and entrepreneurial skills that generates high levels of employment informality. The model uses a detailed structure of personal income taxes (PITs) and subsidies to formal workers to capture the labor wedges present in many countries. These features enable the model to assess how changes in PITs and subsidies affect labor market outcomes and the government's fiscal accounts. The model is calibrated for Mexico, which, like many developing countries, has high levels of labor informality. The model's simulations shed light on the impact of a series of reforms to PITs and subsidy schemes aimed at increasing labor formality among low-income workers. The results suggest that adjusting the current structure of the formal employment subsidy combined with PIT exemptions for low-income workers could reduce informality while marginally improving the government's fiscal balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes on the one hand statistical methods for assessing informal employment based on the requirements as set by international standards. On the other hand it describes the potential of integrating various data sources to generate informal employment statistics. With as example official statistics of the Russian Federation, the authors show the features of applying the requirements of international standards. Methods are proposed for assessing informal employment in the formal sector of the economy, i.e. in enterprises that submit employment reports to the National Statistical Office. This phenomenon appears in the employment situation of many countries. However, there is no uniformity between countries in how they evaluate the application of the international standards in such assessment exercises. A theoretical model of informal employment is developed and validated based on statistical data published by international organizations. The validation focuses on assessing the causal relationships between informal employment indicators and the main components of the sustainable development goals. This analysis contributes to coordinated decisions on regulating informal employment and ensuring the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The problem of employment has become a central global concern in recent times. This makes the government and development partners to be fully engaged in finding a lasting solution to the problems. In the past, development planning efforts were concentrated on the development of modern industrial sector. Today, there is renewed interest in the informal economy worldwide. This is because a large share of the global workforce and economy is informal and because the informal sector is growing in many contexts and appearing in new places and guises. The informal sector serves as a buffer against unemployment in times of economic downturn, allowing an increasing share of the population to earn a livelihood from the sector rather than stay openly unemployed with no income. The sector has also played a key role in cushioning the adverse impact of economic crises. The paper therefore interrogated the nature of employment in the informal sector and is anchored on Modernisation theory. This paper is based on a desk and literature review of relevant articles and publications as well as on employment and the informal sector. The paper revealed that Nigerian Informal Sector is a major contributor to the Nigerian economy, accounting for a significant portion of employment and national Gross Domestic Product and also the informal sector currently accounts for over half of global employment and as much as 90% of employment in some of the developing countries like Nigeria. The paper therefore recommends that efforts should be made by the government and its agencies to create more jobs. Secondly, policies should be introduced to address identified challenges in the informal sector towards improving productivity and incomes of informal sector workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the need to define the areas of further improvement of the mechanism of levying single social contribution (SSC), considering the challenges and threats stemming from the increasing deficit of the Pension Fund of Ukraine, an analysis of reforms of the said contribution implemented during 2015—2017 in the context of their effect on the degree of shadowization of wage payments in the country becomes especially important. The scientific rationale for the expediency of lowering the SSC rate in order to reduce the degree of shadowization of wage payments was analyzed. The reform of SSC in Ukraine in 2016 was assessed in the context of its effect on the degree of shadowization of wage payments and unofficial employment, which gave reasons to conclude that no significant positive effects were produced by the said reform. An insignificant decline of these indicators is incomparable with the adverse consequences which this reform had for revenues of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. Calculations of tax burden on the wages paid in Ukraine in 2010—2019 were made. It was established that in 2016, tax burden on payroll fund declined to 28,58% versus 2015, but the following years saw an insignificant growth of this indicator to 30,16% in 2019. It was proved that the drastic lowering of the SSC rate did not stimulate employers to de-shadowize wages. For when Ukrainian lawmakers initiated this reform, they failed to take into account a number of nontax factors in de-shadowization of wage payments related, in particular, to the quality of Ukrainian legislation and regulatory policy and to the level of corruption in the country. Given that employers remain able to conceal the actual number of personnel and the amount of their wages, it will be impossible to solve the problem of unofficial employment and shadowization of wage payments only by lowering the SSC rate. An emphasis was placed on the need to apply a systemic approach to the assessment of possible consequences from future transformations of SSC and their impact on tax burden on payroll fund in terms of all its components and taking into account nontax factors in de-shadowization of wage payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 pandemic causes the country's economies to be deeply affected in the countries where it is seen. The pandemic has also affected our country, the policies implemented to control the pandemic have affected employment and various measures have been taken to protect employment. Women's employment is very important, especially for developing countries to achieve sustainable development goals. Women's employment was also affected during the pandemic process. In Turkey, the level of female employment, male employment has been unable for various reasons. How the pandemic process affected women's employment and the outlook of women's employment between 2000-2020 were analyzed using TURKSTAT data. As a result of the analysis, it was observed that the female employment rate was quite low; it could not catch the male employment rate between the years examined. During the pandemic process, women working in the service sector were affected the most. Women working informally, especially in housework, patient and child care, were unemployed during the pandemic process as they were deemed to be risky in terms of health. In order to reduce the economic and health effects of women working informally in various sectors during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]