SCIENTIFIC OUTLINE

 

INFORMAL ECONOMY, UNDERGROUND EMPLOYMENT : SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES

CALL FOR PAPERS

Several studies show that the size of the (non criminal) informal economy is not inconsiderable in OECD countries. Lyssiotou, Pashardes and Stengos (1999) estimate that the informal economy in Great Britain represents at least 9.24% of GDP. Besides, according to Schneider and Enste (2000) - even though the question is still debated - there was a constant increase in the size of the informal sector in most OECD countries (including the United States) from 1960 to 1999. The reasons for this increase are multiple: the tax system and social security contributions, the extent of administrative regulations of markets (trade barriers, labor restrictions for foreigners), characteristics of the job market (high total labor costs and the reduction in working hours) and quality of the public sector services (the better it is, the less is the incentive to invest in the informal economy).

The very definition of the informal economy and underground employment is a problem in itself. The late swiss law on illegal work testifies to this difficulty: rather than trying to define the informal economy, law makers merely listed the various legal codes it (the said definition) fails to observe.
For economists, the boundaries between household production and labor supply still raise serious theoretical issues. For anthropologists, the social definition of work is problematic when the frameworks of salaried work, self-employment and housework are not settled by the law or vary from one country to another.
Rather than relying upon statisticians to define the phenomenon on the basis of various legal and theoretical contexts, the colloquium is intended to contribute to the reflection on the construction of categories. It will promote an ethnographic look at the boundaries between the household economy and the formal economy, a confrontation between various legal and theoretical frameworks as well as research on various geographical areas (OECD countries, countries from the developing world or the former Soviet Union). It will also bring together economists, sociologists and anthropologists.

As for the formal labor market, the supply side has been widely studied (Cowell, 1985; Clotfelter, 1983; Lacroix and Fortin, 1992; Lemieux et al., 1994; Frederiksen et al., 2005). However, as pointed out by Sandmo (2004), there exists few analyses on the demand side (Fugazza and Jacques, 2003, Busato and Chiarini, 2004, Diaye and Koshevoy, 2006). Several facts (for instance the growing number of domestic employees and large numbers of clandestine workers) call for a greater attention to the demand side of the black labor market.

Consequently, propositions about the following subjects will be welcome: economic and econometric analysis on the demand side of the black labor market (including private individuals), analysis of the impact of new technologies on the supply side of the black labor market, research on complementarity or substituability between informal and formal labor.

Finally it is planned to produce, in addition to a proceedings, a special issue of a journal and a book

 

CALL FOR PAPERS