Institutional Asymmetry And The Acceptability Of Undeclared Work: Synthesis Report, Colin C. Williams
Jan 2019
Institutional Asymmetry And The Acceptability Of Undeclared Work: Synthesis Report, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
This report is part of the project SHADOWSwhich aims to investigate the effectiveness of different policy measures in reducing undeclared work. As such, the project evaluates not only the effectiveness of using a rational economic actor approach (that tackles undeclared work by ensuring that the payoff from undeclared work is outweighed by the costs), and a social actor approach (grounded in a view that undeclared work arises when tax morale is low), but also analyses the interaction effects (between deterrents and tax morale, and vertical and horizontal trust) in various contexts. This report focuses on the social actor approach, …
Evaluating Competing Theories Of Informal Sector Entrepreneurship: A Study Of The Determinants Of Cross-Country Variations In Enterprises Starting-Up Unregistered, Colin C. Williams
May 2018
Evaluating Competing Theories Of Informal Sector Entrepreneurship: A Study Of The Determinants Of Cross-Country Variations In Enterprises Starting-Up Unregistered, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
To advance understanding of the reasons for informal sector entrepreneurship, this article evaluates the determinants of
cross-country variations in the extent to which enterprises are unregistered when they start operating. Reporting the
World Bank Enterprise Survey data on 67,515 enterprises across 142 countries, the finding is that one in five (19.9%) of
the formal enterprises surveyed started-up unregistered, although this varies from all enterprises surveyed in some
countries (e.g. Pakistan) to 1% of surveyed enterprises in Slovakia. To explain these cross-country variations, four
competing theories are evaluated which variously assert that nonregistration is determined by either: economic
under-development and poorer …
Explaining Cross-Country Variations In The Prevalence Of Informal Sector Competitors: Lessons From The World Bank Enterprise Survey, Colin C. Williams
Apr 2018
Explaining Cross-Country Variations In The Prevalence Of Informal Sector Competitors: Lessons From The World Bank Enterprise Survey, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
To advance understanding of informal sector entrepreneurship, the aim of this
paper is to evaluate and explain the cross-country variations in the prevalence of informal
sector competitors. To do so, World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data is reported
from 142 countries. This reveals that 27% of formal enterprises view competition from the
informal sector as a major constraint on their operations, although this varies from 72%of
formal enterprises in Chad to no formal enterprises in El Salvador. To explain these crosscountry
variations, four competing theories are evaluated which variously view informal
sector entrepreneurship and enterprise to bemore prevalent when there …
Beyond The Formal Economy: Evaluating The Level Of Employment In Informal Sector Enterprises In Global Perspective, Colin C. Williams
Dec 2012
Beyond The Formal Economy: Evaluating The Level Of Employment In Informal Sector Enterprises In Global Perspective, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the varying level of employment in informal sector enterprises
across the globe and to undertake an exploratory analysis of the wider economic and social conditions
associated with greater levels of informalization. Examining International Labor Organization surveys
conducted in 43 countries, the finding is that the main job of just under one in three (31.5 percent) nonagricultural
workers is in an informal sector enterprise. Conducting an exploratory analysis of the
correlation between countries with higher levels of employment in informal sector enterprises and
economic under-development (‘modernization’ thesis), higher taxes, corruption and state interference …
Re-Thinking Informal Entrepreneurship: Commercial Or Social Entrepreneurs?, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Dec 2011
Re-Thinking Informal Entrepreneurship: Commercial Or Social Entrepreneurs?, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Colin C Williams
This paper evaluates critically the assumption that entrepreneurs
who start-up their business ventures operating wholly or partially
off-the-books are engaged in commercial entrepreneurship. Reporting evidence
from a 2005–2006 survey involving face-to-face interviews with
298 informal entrepreneurs in Ukraine, the finding is that they are not all
commercially-driven. Instead, these informal entrepreneurs range from purely
rational economic actors who pursue for-profit logics through to purely social
entrepreneurs who pursue solely social logics, with the majority somewhere
in the middle of this spectrum combining both for-profit and social rationales.
The result is a call for a more nuanced understanding of the heterogeneous …
Legal Guide For Small Business, Robert Sprague
Dec 2009
Legal Guide For Small Business, Robert Sprague
Robert Sprague
Overview of legal issues associated with starting, managing, and ending a small business.
