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Colin C Williams

Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Tackling Undeclared Work In The Agricultural Sector, With A Focus Upon Seasonal Workers And Horticulture: Background Paper For The European Platform On Tackling Undeclared Work Seminar, Colin C. Williams Jan 2019

Tackling Undeclared Work In The Agricultural Sector, With A Focus Upon Seasonal Workers And Horticulture: Background Paper For The European Platform On Tackling Undeclared Work Seminar, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This background paper briefly sets out the prevalence of undeclared work in the agricultural sector in the European Union and the approaches and tools available for tackling such work, with a focus upon horticulture and undeclared seasonal workers. The intention is to stimulate the thoughts of participants attending the European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work seminar on “Tackling undeclared work in the agricultural sector: with a focus upon seasonal workers and horticulture” (to be held in Brussels on January 24th 2019) on potential policy which could be adopted to transform undeclared work into declared work in the agricultural sector, especially with …

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Glossary Of Terms: European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work, Colin C. Williams Nov 2018

Glossary Of Terms: European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This glossary is intended to provide a common understanding of the terminology that is used in the European Platform tackling undeclared work web pages, documents and publications. It does not provide official Platform definitions of the terms listed therein. Where possible, references are provided to the source of the understandings provided.
To facilitate understanding, the terms in the glossary are grouped together rather than presented as an A-Z list.

In the first section, the common understandings about undeclared work and its various sub-types are provided, followed by other related concepts and terms often used for activities related to undeclared work. …

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Explaining And Tackling Under-Declared Employment In Fyr Macedonia: The Employers Perspective, Colin C. Williams, Slavko Bezeredi Oct 2018

Explaining And Tackling Under-Declared Employment In Fyr Macedonia: The Employers Perspective, Colin C. Williams, Slavko Bezeredi

Colin C Williams

The aim of this paper is to evaluate how employers who illegally under-report their employees’ salaries to
evade paying the full tax and social contributions owed can be explained and tackled. These employers have
been conventionally explained as rational economic actors doing so when the benefits outweigh the costs,
and thus the solution is to increase the sanctions and/or probability of detection. An alternative social actor
approach, however, explains employers as under-reporting salaries because of their lack of both vertical trust
(i.e., their beliefs are not in symmetry with the laws and regulations) and horizontal trust (i.e., they believe
many …

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Tackling Under-Declared Employment In The European Union: Input Paper To Thematic Discussion Of European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work, Colin C. Williams Oct 2018

Tackling Under-Declared Employment In The European Union: Input Paper To Thematic Discussion Of European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

The under-declaration of work ranges from employers using unregistered employees, through the under-declaration of income by the formal self-employed and formal businesses, to the misuse of collaborative platforms and the digital economy to conceal the full amount of incomes and social security due.
The objective of this thematic discussion on under-declared employment in the European Union is: (i) to exchange information on what works and what does not, (ii) to generate knowledge about under-declared employment, and (iii) to explore how the Platform activities can contribute to tackling under-declared employment.
The intention is to focus upon two types of under-declaring work: …

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Evaluating Policy Approaches Towards Undeclared Work: Some Lessons From Fyr Of Macedonia, Colin C. Williams Oct 2018

Evaluating Policy Approaches Towards Undeclared Work: Some Lessons From Fyr Of Macedonia, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

To tackle undeclared work, the conventional rational economic actor approach
uses deterrents to ensure that the costs of engaging in undeclared work outweigh
the benefits. Recent years have seen the emergence of a social actor approach
which focuses upon improving tax morale. To analyse the association between
participation in undeclared work and these policy approaches, 2,014 face-toface
interviews, conducted in FYROM in 2015, are reported. Logistic regression
analysis reveals no association between participation in undeclared work and the
perceived level of penalties and risk of detection, but there is an association with
the level of tax morale. The paper concludes …

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Evaluating Competing Perspectives Towards Undeclared Work: Some Lessons From Bulgaria, Colin C. Williams Aug 2018

Evaluating Competing Perspectives Towards Undeclared Work: Some Lessons From Bulgaria, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

When explaining and tackling the undeclared economy in Central
and Eastern Europe, participants have been conventionally viewed
as rational economic actors. They engage in undeclared work
when the benefits outweigh the costs. Participation is thus
deterred by increasing the sanctions and/or probability of being
caught. Recently, however, an alternative social actor approach
has emerged which views participants as engaging in undeclared
work when their norms, values and beliefs (i.e. citizen morale) do
not align with laws and regulations (i.e. state morale). Here, therefore,
initiatives to develop greater symmetry between civic and
state morale are pursued. To evaluate the validity and …

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Do Deterrents Prevent Undeclared Work? An Evaluation Of The Rational Economic Actor Approach, Ioana Horodnic, Colin C. Williams Jan 2018

Do Deterrents Prevent Undeclared Work? An Evaluation Of The Rational Economic Actor Approach, Ioana Horodnic, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Across the member states of the European Union and beyond, paid transactions occur that are not declared to the state for tax, social security and/or labour law purposes when they should be declared. This is not a minority practice. The undeclared economy is estimated to be equivalent to 17.9 per cent of the EU28 GDP in 2016. Similarly, it is estimated that 9.3 per cent of total labour input in the private sector in the EU28 is undeclared and that undeclared work constitutes on average 14.3 per cent of gross value added in the private sector. Furthermore, in 2013, 4 …

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Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia: Knowledge-Informed Policy Responses, Colin C. Williams, Peter Rodgers, Ruslan Stefanov Aug 2017

Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia: Knowledge-Informed Policy Responses, Colin C. Williams, Peter Rodgers, Ruslan Stefanov

Colin C Williams

KEY POINTS
Ø  Undeclared work has deep roots in Croatia. One in eleven declare to have done some fully undeclared work. Six out of ten though believe at least 20% of their compatriots violate tax and labour laws.
Ø  The perception of the widespread nature of undeclared work and the lack of trust in formal institutions seem to be the main incentives for people to engage in undeclared work. These have been exacerbated by high unemployment and low retirement income.
Ø  Hence, the conventional rational actor approach to tackling undeclared work that focuses upon increasing penalties …

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Preventative Policy Measures To Tackle Undeclared Work In Croatia, Colin C. Williams Jul 2017

Preventative Policy Measures To Tackle Undeclared Work In Croatia, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This report examines the drivers of the undeclared economy in Croatia, the current organisation of the fight against undeclared work, and reviews the current and potential policy approaches and measures for tackling undeclared work in Croatia.
 
Drivers of the undeclared economy in Croatia
Recently, significant advances have been made in explaining the determinants of undeclared work. To explain undeclared work, it has been understood that every society has institutions which prescribe, monitor and enforce the ‘rules of the game’ regarding what is socially acceptable. In all societies, these institutions are of two types: formal institutions that prescribe ‘state morality’ …

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Tackling The Urban Informal Economy: Some Lessons From A Study Of Europe’S Urban Population, Colin C. Williams, Ioana Horodnic Jun 2017

Tackling The Urban Informal Economy: Some Lessons From A Study Of Europe’S Urban Population, Colin C. Williams, Ioana Horodnic

Colin C Williams

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the
most effective way of tackling the urban informal
economy. It has been recently argued that the
conventional rational economic actor approach
(which increases the costs of participating in the
urban informal economy so that they outweigh
the benefi ts) should be replaced or complemented
by a social actor approach which focuses
upon improving tax morale. To evaluate the effectiveness
of these supposedly alternative approaches
to tackling the participation of urban
populations in the informal economy, we report
the results of face-to-face interviews conducted
in 2013 with 17,886 urban dwellers across the …

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Tackling The Participation Of Europe’S Rural Population In The Shadow Economy, Colin C. Williams, Ioana Horodnic May 2017

Tackling The Participation Of Europe’S Rural Population In The Shadow Economy, Colin C. Williams, Ioana Horodnic

Colin C Williams

To tackle the shadow economy, an emergent literature has called for the conventional
rational economic actor approach (which uses deterrents to ensure that the costs of engaging in shadow
work outweigh the benefits) to be replaced or complemented by a social actor approach which focuses
upon improving tax morale. To evaluate the relevance and validity of doing this in rural areas, we here report
face-to-face interviews conducted with 9,677 rural dwellers conducted across the 28 member states of the
European Union (EU28) in 2013. Multilevel logistic regression analysis reveals that both approaches significantly
reduce the rural shadow economy. When tax …

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Developing A Holistic Approach For Tackling Undeclared Work: Background Paper, Colin C. Williams Nov 2016

Developing A Holistic Approach For Tackling Undeclared Work: Background Paper, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

What is a holistic approach to tackling undeclared work? A holistic policy approach towards tackling the undeclared economy uses in a strategic and coordinated manner the full range of both the direct and indirect policy approaches and measures available to increase the power of, and trust in, authorities respectively.
 
Direct approachesreduce the costs and increase the benefits of operating on a declared basis, and increase the costs and reduce the benefits of operating undeclared. To do this, it uses:
·      Deterrence measures that detect and punish participation in undeclared work firstly, by increasing the perceived or actual …

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The Informal Sector As A Path To Expanding Opportunities, Colin C. Williams Oct 2015

The Informal Sector As A Path To Expanding Opportunities, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Is the informal economy a help or a hindrance to expanding the opportunities of the poor? Conventionally, it has been deemed a hindrance; an unproductive sphere that is deleterious to wider economic development and growth. Recently, however, a more positive depiction has emerged viewing it as a useful means of expanding the opportunities of the poor. This report reviews the arguments and evidence for viewing it more positively and how it might be harnessed in order to help expand the opportunities of the poor.  

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Designing Survey Methods To Evaluate The Undeclared Economy: A Review Of The Options, Colin C. Williams Jun 2015

Designing Survey Methods To Evaluate The Undeclared Economy: A Review Of The Options, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This Working Paper is part of the GREY project which is developing capacities and capabilities in tackling undeclared work. In this Working Paper, the various options available to researchers when designing surveys to tackle undeclared work are evaluated. These issues include the unit of analysis used, the data collection methodology, an array of questionnaire design issues (including the reference period, whether to define the phenomenon for participants, a direct versus gradual approach to sensitive issues, whether to do a supply- and/or demand-side survey; whether to examine the relationship between purchasers and sellers, how to discourage social desirability bias), sample size, …

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Designing Focus Groups And Experiments To Evaluate Policy Approaches And Measures For Tackling Undeclared Work, Marina Polak, Lyubomir Mishkov, Colin C. Williams Jan 2015

Designing Focus Groups And Experiments To Evaluate Policy Approaches And Measures For Tackling Undeclared Work, Marina Polak, Lyubomir Mishkov, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

The aim of this Working Paper is to review the literature on conducting focus groups and experiments in the field of tax non-compliance and undeclared work, and then to set set a range of possible uses of focus groups and experiments to evaluate the feasibility of various policy measures in the context of Bulgaria, Croatia and Macedonia.

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Assessing The Cross-National Transferability Of Policy Measures For Tackling Undeclared Work, Colin C. Williams, Rositsa Dzhekova, Marijana Baric, Josip Franic, Lyubo Mishkov Aug 2014

Assessing The Cross-National Transferability Of Policy Measures For Tackling Undeclared Work, Colin C. Williams, Rositsa Dzhekova, Marijana Baric, Josip Franic, Lyubo Mishkov

Colin C Williams

The aim of the present Working Paper No. 5 is to provide a preliminary assessment of the appropriateness of possible policy approaches for tackling undeclared work as well as their transferability to three target countries: Bulgaria (BG), Croatia (HR) and FYR Macedonia (FYROM). This assessment will result in highlighting a set of promising policy practices that can be tested empirically in terms of their acceptability among the population and stakeholders in the three Southeast European states.

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Tackling The Undeclared Economy In Fyr Macedonia: A Baseline Assessment, Rositsa Dzhekova, Josip Franic, Lyubo Mishkov, Colin C. Williams Jun 2014

Tackling The Undeclared Economy In Fyr Macedonia: A Baseline Assessment, Rositsa Dzhekova, Josip Franic, Lyubo Mishkov, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This report provides a detailed review of available evidence on the extent and nature of the undeclared economy in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), as well as on the institutional actors involved in tackling the phenomenon and their policy approach and measures used.

Extent and nature of the undeclared economy

Some widely cited international measurements that cover FYROM find that the share of its undeclared economy is larger than in all EU Member States, estimated at 35% of GDP in 2007 (Schneider et al, 2010). Data from the most recent national Labour Force Survey suggests that in 2012 …

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Policy Approaches Towards Undeclared Work: A Conceptual Framework, Colin C. Williams May 2014

Policy Approaches Towards Undeclared Work: A Conceptual Framework, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

The aim of this working paper is to provide a conceptual framework for understanding the policy approaches for tackling undeclared work. In doing so, the intention is to provide the structure for a future comprehensive review of the policy measures available for tackling undeclared work.

This paper is part of a series of papers associated with the project entitled ‘Out of the shadows: developing capacities and capabilities for tackling undeclared work in Bulgaria, Croatia and FYR Macedonia’. Funded by the European Commission’s Framework 7 Industry-Academia Partnerships Programme (IAPP), the objective of this project is to provide concrete policy recommendations about …

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L’Emploi Informel Dans Les Économies Développées Et En Développement: Quelles Perspectives, Quelles Interventions?, Colin C. Williams Nov 2013

L’Emploi Informel Dans Les Économies Développées Et En Développement: Quelles Perspectives, Quelles Interventions?, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

L’objet de cet article introductif est de proposer un panorama des définitions
et modes de quantification de l’activité informelle, de présenter quelques
résultats sur son étendue et ses caractéristiques, ainsi que d’exposer les thèses en
présence sur son rôle dans les économies contemporaines et la façon de l’aborder.
Cela donne une série de cadres conceptuels permettant de mieux appréhender la
littérature foisonnante sur l’emploi informel, et aussi de mieux comprendre l’apport
de chacune des contributions de ce numéro spécial au progrès des connaissances
sur ce phénomène.

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Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy May 2013

Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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The Shadow Economy, Colin C. Williams, Friedrich Schneider May 2013

The Shadow Economy, Colin C. Williams, Friedrich Schneider

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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Tackling Undeclared Work In Montenegro, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy May 2013

Tackling Undeclared Work In Montenegro, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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Tackling Undeclared Work In Fyr Macedonia, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy May 2013

Tackling Undeclared Work In Fyr Macedonia, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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Tackling Undeclared Work In Turkey, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy May 2013

Tackling Undeclared Work In Turkey, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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Tackling Undeclared Work In Iceland, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy May 2013

Tackling Undeclared Work In Iceland, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia And Four Eu Candidate Countries, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy May 2013

Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia And Four Eu Candidate Countries, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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Explaining The Persistence Of The Informal Economy In Central And Eastern Europe: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams Dec 2011

Explaining The Persistence Of The Informal Economy In Central And Eastern Europe: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

To evaluate critically the competing explanations for the persistence of the informal economy that variously represent this sphere as a residue, by-product, alternative and/or complement to the formal economy, this paper reports a survey of livelihood practices in 313 Moscow households. The finding is that the majority of households primarily depend on informal work to secure their livelihood and that although each and every theorisation is wholly valid with regard to particular types of informal work and/or specific population groups, no one articulation fully captures the diverse nature and multiple meanings of the informal economy in contemporary Moscow. The paper …

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Theorizing The Self-Service Economy: A Case Study Of Do-It-Yourself (Diy) Activity, Colin C. Williams Dec 2011

Theorizing The Self-Service Economy: A Case Study Of Do-It-Yourself (Diy) Activity, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Recently, it has become increasingly recognised that self-servicing is a growing rather than declining phenomenon. To explain this, a range of competing theories have emerged which variously portray those engaged in self-servicing either as rational economic actors, dupes, seekers of self-identity, or simply doing so out of necessity or choice. This paper evaluates critically the validity of these rival explanations. To do this, the extent of, and reasons for, self-servicing in the domestic realm is empirically evaluated through an internet survey of 5,500 people living in the city of Sheffield in England. This resulted in 418 valid responses (a 7.6 …

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Enabling Enterprise: Tackling The Barriers To Formalisation, Colin C. Williams Dec 2011

Enabling Enterprise: Tackling The Barriers To Formalisation, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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Evaluating The Persistence Of Subsistence Work In Contemporary Economies: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams, Peter Rodgers Dec 2011

Evaluating The Persistence Of Subsistence Work In Contemporary Economies: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams, Peter Rodgers

Colin C Williams

Purpose – Contrary to the view that the subsistence economy is some minor residue persisting in
only a few peripheral enclaves of modern economies, the purpose of this paper is to begin to chart the
importance and prevalence of subsistence work across the contemporary economic landscape and the
reasons underpinning engagement in this form of non-commodified labour.
Design/methodology/approach – To do so, the extent of, and reasons for, subsistence production
amongst those living in contemporary Moscow is evaluated using face-to-face interviews with
313 households in affluent, mixed and deprived districts.
Findings – It was found that subsistence work is a …

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